Inception of a Different Path
by insane2core
Summary: What if the Strawhats encounter someone who knew years into their future just before their separation? what would they gain that they lost in the future? Or would they loose what they gained?
1. Chapter 1

_Hi! first attempt...please tell me what you think!_

Hi!

The name's Testarossa... pretty much a mouthful, right? Thats why most people call me Tessa. 17 years old, black hair, brown eyes, skinny, not someone you would remember if you pass by me somewhere. I don't really like the constraints placed on a girl like me by society, so people who know me well know that I am crazy... I've climbed four meter tall walls without any precautions in the rain, used an ant's nest as a stool to get a head start on a tree, caught a snake to keep as a house pet ( my crazy luck that it was only a grass snake) and a thousand other deeds that most people avoid.

So when I ran into One Piece, a story line of a guy who may just be as crazy as me... I was hooked. And I found out to my surprise, he was the crazier one.

So I followed him and his crew all the way to Dressrosa, and absolutly loved it.

So I started up my computer, and navigated my way through the internet to find out if Monkey D Luffy would find Zou, the walking elephant they were after...

Wait. That was where everything went wrong... or was that right?

So I was _supposed_ to be in bed, comfortable, ready to get psyched up about what ever happened in the One Piece universe. The episode was in front of me, the headphones were on my head...

I was in bed... just that the bed was not in my room,and definitely not in my house. I stuffed my headphones and my laptop in my bag, which was still lying on bed bed after I dumped it after collage that afternoon, and trudged out of the unfamiliar old-fashioned door...

"500 MILLION BERI!" a voice shouted, which reverberated through the entire setting. I clutched the bag tightly when I realized which currency was being used in this place...

I was in trouble.

 _I was in the middle of a bunch of slave traders in Sabaody Archipelago. How was that even possible?_

Camei...the mermaid. Auction. The Strawhats. The Heart pirates. The Kid pirates. Tenryuubito...

I had to get back home. For that I needed to stick with someone that I knew. Considering I knew most of the pirates and disturbing amounts of information about their abilities, I didn't know what to do...

I dashed out of the first exit and ended up with all the slaves...and I couldn't see any other exit other than the one to the stage. Not an option. I glanced around frantically, and got caught face to face with a grey haired old man who couldn't possibly be strong enough to be a slave- no, no... the Dark King, Rayleigh.

My heart fluttered. It had been quiet some time before I had felt the feeling of uncertainity about him. For starters, I had no clue if the storyline was going the way I predicted it would... I had no idea if the characters had the same personalities, and a thousand other similar details... but if this indeed was the same man who was the right hand man of Ace's father, there was no point of me running away.

Or was this some elaborate prank from Lisanna? My friend who was also nuts about One Piece.. I had been caught in her pranks before and I had not liked it _at all._ The acting was so realistic, the scene was so real... I actually believed Law had cut her fore arm off for a whole 5 minutes before I realized that the staff were laughing their ass off...

My mouth was half open as I still debated what to do... should I lie? 'Rayligh' hadn't even asked a question yet. Even if this was a prank it would require too much budget, and I didn't think even Lisanna would up her game so much.

"don't worry, child. I won't be pressing you to any answers. But by you attire, I can't say where you are from."

I stood there, stunned & silent. I think he took the hint from my expression.

" if you want to get out of here, use the door to the corner." he pointed at a well concealed door leading to the backyard of the auction house. "but I wouldn't advise that. If the rumours about Strawhat Luffy are true, then he is going to make a ruckus if that mermaid gets sold. This place will be crawling with marines and who knows what they'll do."

I knew Camie was getting sold, I knew Luffy was going to wreck havoc to this place, I knew that this was also the last day before the Strawhats got separated for two very long years. I could change that, if I stuck with them... but that would hinder the huge progress they made in those two years... and I didn't want that. _If this was not Lisanna's idea of a joke..._

More I thought of my surroundings, more unbelievable it became that this could be Lisanna's joke. How could she possibly make bubbles develop on the ground? And the bulls that pulled those vehicles... where could she get those? If it was not... I needed backup plans.

But was sticking with pirates a good idea? I couldn't just stay at this clump of trees if I wanted to get home... and these guys were always meeting people with new posibilites.

The option of sticking with the Strawhats was long gone... they were, by and large, the best group to stick with. Since I knew what happened in Dressrosa, I knew that Trafalgar Law could be a nice guy when needed, but I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I am haunted by a guy who could actually sell you in pieces... I hardly knew anything about the Kid pirates, but at that time Eustass 'Captain' Kid had a higher bounty than Luffy because they had more deaths on their side...

"Thanks for the advise, Rayleigh-san." I only realised what I said after it was already out... I couldn't believe how stupid I was...

"I hope you intend to keep that secret." his eyes had gone sharp, and his tone was now a bit dominating... _was he really an actor?_

"Sorry. I never intended to reveal anything to anyone. I promise." I was not lying, and I hoped he could see it. _I would be in trouble if he was the real deal._

I stepped towards the door and he didn't stop me. Taking that as encouragement, I left by the door he mentioned and into the greenery. I whipped my mobile out, checking my signal... as expected, I couldn't find any bars at all...

No signal, no internet, no cloths to change into, no food to eat, no money to buy anything... I had no idea what to do...

Soon I could hear all hell breaking loose in the auction-house. Two minutes in, I saw the marines gathering around, and shouting for the 'criminals' to release the 'hostages'. I sneaked away silently when all eyes were on the doors. I didn't want to get in the way of Luffy's limbs, Law's 'room', or Kid's weapons. But from my vantage I still had quiet a view of what was going to happen... come on, who didn't want to see their favourite anime happening in front of their eyes?

The faint voice of the captains arguing reached me just like it reached all the other sweat-dropping marines...

"Like I said, I won't let you guys hog all the fun!"

"Shut up..."

"No! I'll be doing it!

"Stop shouting already..."

"really?"

"Shut up! Just keep quiet both of you!"

"So noisy..."

"What did you say?!"

"Don't try to order me around."

"You just don't get it, do you?"

"The one who isn't getting it is you!"

" Okay!" Luffy's voice rang out, followed by his knuckles cracking. "Stand back, I got this."

I caught the soldiers muttering about the pirates... I knew what they were talking about, anyway. And I knew that I hated the outcome of this fight.

I remembered Luffy's face as he watched his friends disappeared...I remembered their fear and pain as they disappeared...

The canon's loud boom made me scoot out of the bushes before it had the chance to be deflected to me. I was a die hard fan of the Strawhats, and right now, I didn't care that the two year gap was essential to their growth. I took the detour to the three captains, who were kindly showing off the abilities that I had never even dreamed of being able to witness. Luffy's limbs actually were streching, Law's faint spherical rooms were visible, he did cut a marine who remained alive as his head bounced from Law's hand like a ball, Kid was really attracting metals to him and repelling them... _Lisanna could never stage this._

I made it in time for the rest of the pirates to come out. Soon enough, the Kid and Heart pirates should be facing a pacifista together, and a bit later the Strawhats would run into one. I had a few minutes to explain...

I rushed to the nearest Strawhat I could find, Cat Burglar Nami.

"you guys need to get out of here!" I panted, as Nami noticed me for the first time...

"who-"

"you don't have any time at all! You can meet in three days time or stick together, but just go! The pasifista after you will separate you guys for 2 years!" I shouted at her, breathlessly. I knew it was a bad idea to shout at Nami but there was no time for manners.

"Zoro! Sanji! Robin! Chopper! Franky! Usopp! Luffy!" I shouted, trying to gain their attention. "no matter how hard you fight, you can't win this one!" now I was starting to get their attention... I pointed at one of the marine ships which I knew was empty.

"Borrow that and get going to Impel Down prison!" of course, all eyes were instantly on me.

"Do you think our captain would just give himself up?!" Zoro shouted at me, and for a moment I was scared...

"I never said he had to. Fire-fist Ace is going to be executed in a few day's time and he is right now at Impel Down!" I revealed urgently. I turned to the face whose eyes were covered by the characteristic straw hat. "Luffy, your brother will die if you don't act fast!"

"Ace!" Luffy suddenly shouted, pouncing on me. I was thrown to the ground with him on me, and I saw his eyes search mine.

"Yes, Ace. I don't actually want to come with you..." I cringed at the memory of that war at Marine Ford, and I was yet again reminded of Ace's last words-

I shook the thought away. "...but if you let me tag along, I am pretty sure I can turn the tides of the up coming war." I smirked at him. _I may be able to keep Ace alive!_

"Sure, join our crew!" Luffy's trademark carefree behaviour was back, supported by that huge smile. He got off, offering me a hand. So far, so good...

But one look at the other Strawhats, and I realized that none of them were as easy as Luffy to deal with...

 _So, I don't think this was really good..._

 _If you did sit through all that, tell me how to make this better! I'll surely make the differences next time!_

 _See you!_


	2. Chapter 2

_Sorry, it was a little something called board exams... they are still not done, but I can't study without a break either..._

 _Anyway, here's chapter 2!_

By now the my announcements had worn off and my favourite pirates were starting to get back into action. Sanji was kicking soldiers, Chopper was clearing paths with his antlers, Brook's music was working wonders, and Zoro was already starting to cut enemies up... _they were replaying the events to separation again._

Seems like me being there or not was not the rout to a different fate, but my actions were.

"lets go!" I shouted, pulling Luffy's elongating hand behind me, towards the marine ship. " I know I have a lot to explain, but I am not lying! You'll regret it facing Kuma here!"

"How do you know its him? How do you know what he'll do? How do you know about Ace? How do you know so much?" Nami demanded, giving me her perfected stare, which made me seem smaller than a bug. I stared back at her, swallowing my feelings. _I had seen that face so many times in the anime..._

"I said I will explain later, didn't I? Just convince th-" I suddenly stopped, Nami's apathetic stare still on me. I realised I was talking to the wrong person. She couldn't trust me yet, how could I expect her to help me? I frowned at her and exhaled loudly, letting her know my annoyance.

How do I convince them to listen to me? At this rate, their future would come true. And I would get stuck with a choice to either stay on this land or board one of the pirate ships. I would most probably end up as a burden... other than guts, hyperactivity, sure-footedness and love for animals, I didn't have anything- no fighting-skills, navigation skills, or a devil fruit ability...

Sure, I did not have devil fruit ability, but I could pretend to have it!

"I ate the Mirai-Mirai no mi! I can see up to 3 years into your future!" I hissed out at Nami, who stared back at me, unconvinced. My heart rate accelerated, but I was determined to not let it show on my face. "I can even see your past! Lets see..." I closed my eyes and let Nami think about draw her conclusions out of my act for a few seconds before looking right into my eyes and making my 'prediction'. I smirked like Shinichi in 'Detective Conan' and let the suspense built up for a bit.

"I feel so sorry for you..." I paused, observing Nami getting increasingly uncomfortable. "you've had it really hard in your past... especially when Bellmère was shot after paying your and Nojiko's tax..." Nami jerked visibly, her breathing ragged and her eyes grew wide. "It was even worse that that had happened only a few days after you accused your mother of not understanding you because you were not related to her by blood..."

"Stop! F-fine I'll b-believe you..." her voice broke but she contained it in, looking at me with apprehension. "Just don't say that again."

"Then will you get everyone out of this island? it can save a few lives." I looked at Nami as seriously as I could when I was lying to her, "I really want to save Ace. I don't want all of you to get stuck in different places for two years."

Nami didn't really need to say much to Sanji, who pretty much kicked everyone to the marine ship, and kicked all the marines in it, out. Sanji, graciously,(and perhaps to my relief) didn't kick us ladies and escorted all three of us to the ship with five star treatment. Sanji was quick to notice that I had never climbed into a ship in my life, and helped me up.

Franky was quick to get full control of the ship, and we were finally off, even though we had to dodge a few cannon balls on the way. So, we did manage to set sail without a two year time skip in the middle... _part 1-success!_

"Tessa, at your service." I bowed, careful not to do it the American way by sticking a hand out. The rest of the Strawhats were serious except for Luffy were completely serious.

"So, Tessa-san, Ace is at Impel Down?" Sanji stated through the smoke from his second cigarette, from the time he had gotten to the marine ship. For once all the strawhats _including Luffy_ , were listening intently.

"Yep, Portagas D. Ace is imprisoned in the 6th level of Impel down prison, to be executed in 5 days time*. The execution will be at Marineford, and all through there will be top level security since Ace is a member of the pirate fleet of one of the Yonkou, White Beard."

"Nami, set sail for Impel Down." Luffy stated, one hand on the trade mark straw hat and his gaze set on the horizon.

"You would have looked pretty convincing if you weren't staring the wrong way..." Usopp muttered.

"We can't waltz in like some bar in there. Its meant to imprison people like the Crocodile." Robin said, facing the rest of the crew.

"She's right." I seconded "this is gonna be far worse than Ennis Lobby. There are six levels based on the crimes committed by the prisoners. Nearly all of the guards are devil fruit users. You can't trust all of the prisoners to not stab you on the back."

"you know quiet a lot about this prison." Zoro grumbled. "Did you escape it or something?"

"No, not possible" Nami replied. "Not just anyone can get out..." but then Nami's eyes widened. "But maybe a person who can avoid undesirable futures can." all eyes turned to me to my horror and also to my embarrassment.

"No, no, no, no, I'm not a fugitive..." I yelled out. "I am not even worth as much as Chopper!" said blue nosed deer was pretty downcast by the time I realised what I had said.

"I mean, I am not even a pirate! And I know that I can never heal a person as well as Chopper can anyway..." I desperately tried, even though it was not of much effect. I fell silent, hoping the tension would soon wear off.

" Sanji! What's for lunch?" Luffy shouted into Sanji's ear, immediately destroying the atmosphere. Sanji was quick to kick the rubber boy across the deck.

" DON'T SCREAM INTO MY EAR!" Sanji paused, turning gracefully over to Robin and Nami, his hands moving more like jelly than joints " _Nami-swaaan! Robin-chwaaan! What would you like for lunch today?"_ I mentally sighed. Their mannerisms and vocabulary were identical to that in the anime. _He actually managed to make his joints mean nothing to him._

I turned around, and saw Zoro was already asleep, leaning on to one of the walls of the ship. _No anomaly there either._ Luffy was hanging by one of the cannons that was protruding on to the sea, dangerously close to falling off. Usopp had disappeared, probably looking for something to help him improve his gadgets. Robin and Nami were also nowhere to be seen. And Sanji w-

"And what is your order, Tessa-san? Hearts instead of eyes and jelly figure told me Sanji was not making me feel ... _left behind_.

"Well... I'll just have whatever is left... Sanji-kun..."

"Then I shall give you my special Sea King Hot And Sour Meat!" wow, I already get to eat non-existent food... the thought was quiet amusing...

" I would love that... Sanji-kun..." I smiled at him, and his eyes... or, the hearts replacing his eyes bugled out briefly before he practically flew into the kitchen.

I settled down in one of the armchairs, and took out my mobile. I flipped through the applications, my finger lazily dragging the plane of the touch screen mobile. There was probably nothing called signal... then how did their den-den-mushis communicate? Even if I could use one of those snails, the party I wanted to call didn't have one. I didn't have any of that moving papers with me either...(Vivre card, was it?) No internet...

This was getting boring.

I started yet another one of the countless 2048 games that I played and made it up to 512 when Sanji's heavenly food's smell started saturating my nose. Trying to keep my biggest number on the left hand top corner, I paused about half a second before pushing all the blocks up or down...

" What is that, Tessa?" a rather high pitch sound for a guy spoke into my right ear. Instinctively I jumped to the right, snagging into the rather snake like rubbery neck that had wound itself around my left and its head end was at me ear, most of the black hair covered by the straw hat and a toothy smile plastered on to the pirate's face. I calmed down, settling back.

" its just a casual game... the goal is to make the number 2048 by summing up the initial numbers to form it... problem is the numbers get stuck at different corners and it pisses you off." I continued playing as I gave him the briefing...

" so you have to make 2048 numbers stuck at different corners?" Luffy summarised- _wait_ , _what?_

Since it was Luffy, it was a given that there was no point explaining. So I did what all of his crew-mates would have done- nod while sporting a sheepish smile.

"what else does the flat box do?" Luffy stared at my mobile. At first I wondered if I had said anything about flat boxes, then I realized that the pirates had probably never seen anything like a smartphone. Stupid me, I just had to give them another reason to doubt my story, producing non-existent gadgets. I looked into Luffy's eyes, which were still staring at my phone. I remembered how Luffy dealt with stuff that required background information, and hatched a reply...

" it can keep in touch with people important to you like a den-den-mushi, it can store billions of databases which is called the internet which can give you tones of information on any topic, and it can be amended by people who visit them so it is trustworthy, it can keep tabs on you location and show you how to get to different places if someone has visited them before, it can play games, play music, current affairs and..." I spared a glance at Luffy, whose entire face screamed that everything I was saying was a bouncer to his head. "it can talk in different languages in case you don't understand certain languages, and another ton of stuff! Amazing, isn't it?" I smiled back at the face which was now replaced by confusion than a toothy grin.

"I didn't really get it. Anyway!" Luffy leaped onto the table, watching with little restraint and lot of fascination as Sanji appeared, to gracefully delivering food to the Cat Burgler and the Archaeologist. Luffy managed a successful meat raid in the kitchen... if sanji had not kicked him a few meters away as soon as he stepped into it. Long story short, lunch was served.

Sea King Hot and Sour Meat tasted a lot like a combination of chicken and fish. I wasn't really fond of fish before, but who could turn down Sanji's food? I dug in savouring the dish and ignoring ten kilograms of meat being shoved down Luffy's gullet. Chopped nibbled on his cotton candy daintily, and Robin slowly sipped on her tea, leaving her lunch untouched for now. Nami was also digging in. Zoro and Usopp didn't eat as much as Luffy, but just as messily. Sanji was the table-manners role-model, even though most people ignored him now, masked by his skills at making their taste buds happy.

After very satisfying meal (it was even more satisfying to know that I just physically ate a mythical monster), I wandered around the marine ship, trying to make the most out of my first journey on a ship. There were more weapons there than all the weapons that I had seen in my life. Cannon balls, the old style guns, swords, knives, restraints... and Usopp, at the midst of all that, opening them up and examining them thoroughly. He noticed me a split second later, looking through his tinted goggled with a few of his tools in his hands and the rest surrounding him. His mouth smiled at me, though the eyes behind the goggles couldn't be seen.

" I see you're not much of a fighter. Want me to make something for you like Nami?" Usopp took the goggles off, and his eyes were also smiling just like his lips. " Nami defeated ten thousand marines using it once." here we go...

" Since the weapon's model was mine to begin with, Tessa will have to pay 80% of its price to me." Nami called, entering the room a moment later, grinning at me, as if she was making the best deal ever. These people had not changed a bit...

" Nami, stop harassing people who are guests!" Usopp muttered under his breath Nami looked at him murderously for a brief second before turning back to me.

" Thanks for the offer, but I'll pass. I don't have any money on me." I saw Nami's face falling, she felt without a word. Usopp smiled sheepishly at me, apologising with his eyes.

"Sorry, Nami's always like that. She had quiet a hard time with money in her past."

"I know." I whispered. Usopp stared at me wondering how, but then he made the connection.

"That's right, Nami said you were a devil-fruit user!" Usopp looked thrilled. "Can you tell me about it?" I needed to be careful now. I sat don by him, with my rider's bag between us.

"I ate the Mirai-Mirai no Mi. I can look up to three years into the future of a person I have met before, and I can look into important details of their past." I paused, letting my words sink into the Liar, betting against hope that I could lie better than him. "Like I know that nobody trusted you in your village, because you used to lie about pirates coming to your village every day. I know Yasopp, your dad, is a part of the Red Haired Shanks' pirate group. And I know everything you did when you are a part of the Strawhat pirates' group. Nice sniping at Ennis Lobby, by the way."

Usopp was stunned. At least, he looked stunned. "that's amazing... but I can't help but notice that most devil fruits I have seen help fighting ability in some way. I can't see that in yours." Good question... he hadn't seen Violet from Dressrosa yet...

" actually I don't know how to classify my ability either... but I have seen other devil fruit users like me... there was this particular girl in a country who could see what was happening anywhere inside a particular radius... I think it is Paramacia." I said, not denying or implying anything. I slowly picked up a spherically packed cloth containing... something flammable, most probably...

" careful with that, it burns up when in contact with air." Usopp's goggles were back on, fiddling with small instruments with precision. I got up slowly, trying not to disturb him as I made my way out of the maze of weapons.

I walked out of the armoury, and and met a musical pile of bones composing a new song. I couldn't help as my incredible music sense was about as much as a mole-hog's. I also talked a while with the only living person who could read poneglyphs while I was at it.

"Five Sea kings at 2 O'clock!" Chopper shouted from the top of the mast. Everybody was at read alert except for Zoro, who was still sleeping, and Luffy, who was grinning as if he was about to meet an old friend.

"WAKE UP, MOSS HEAD!" Sanji shouted, kicking the swordsman in the face.

" HEY, _LEGS_ -OFF!" Zoro shouted back, taking a swing at the cook.

"Careful, people! We're at the edge of the Grand Line. If we deviate too much, we'll enter the calm-belt..." Nami announced, checking her log-post and the map she had drawn herself.

I did not want to get caught in the calm-belt. I was already in a bad situation as it was, I didn't want to get stuck in a place were most survival experts died... wait, Calm Belt...

Wasn't that the place where that ladies island was? The Kuja tribe? The Kuja-pirates stronghold... Luffy had fallen over there after Kuma's attack, and had gotten introducced to the queen of the Kujas- Boa Hancock. She had smuggled Luffy all the way to Ace...

now we were 'coincidently' on our way there?

 _How hard is the future fighting against me?_

 _Ok, done. Thanks for the reviews and follows! And please don't hold back on criticising my writing!_


	3. Chapter 3

_I'm back! Thanks for the review, it's always appreciated. I don't mind if they are negative or positive! I am trying to include the suggestions given to me, so please tell me how I am doing! Hopefully you are liking my work..._

 _So there goes chapter 3!_

I scanned the horizon, looking for anything that even remotely resembled the unisexual island. I couldn't see any signs, but, just to be sure, I turned to the crew navigator.

"Nami, are we near the Kuja tribe's island?" I asked, still scanning the edge of the sea...

"We should be seeing it anytime!" Nami replied, consulting the her map.

"What are our chances of getting there?" I asked her, a bit of concern leaking through my personality time Nami took her time to answer my question. She answered with obvious slowness, testing my face and patience.

"That should be next to zero... Do you have some unfavourable future to discuss?" My breath hitched, as I debated what to tell her. But the good news was that we wouldn't probably end up the ladies-only island. Sanji would be the first to get turned to stone, and that would probably be followed by all of us. The only person who would stand a chance was Luffy, but due to mine and his crew-mates' presence, his future may be biased... But Boa Hancock was the only reason Luffy had managed to infiltrate the maximum security prison. I had no ideas on how to break in there without help. I decided to trust the future fighting against change and carefully answered Nami.

"Well, according to the future, there is a chance that the entire crew, with an exception of Luffy get turned to stone due the the Kuja tribe's queen's devil fruit ability. But then...uh.. " I gauged my odds of telling the future of a person, who invariably, might end up tearing a great rift in the future events... Screw that! This was already a big violation...

"Boa Hancock falls for Luffy and smuggles him all the way she can into Impel Down." I revealed. I stole a glance at the navigator, and had to physically stop myself from pulling out my mobile and putting my camera to good use. Nami's expression was priceless...

"Did I actually hear that? Romance and Luffy?" Nami shrieked, grabbing my shoulders. I felt so tempted to click a picture of that face...

"Th-That is quiet one-sided... Luffy treats Hancock just like he treats the rest of his friends. She was the one getting her hormones high." I stuttered back to her. Nami didn't calm down. But she did mask her curiosity and was back to her topic. Seems like unlike me, she could hold back on what she wants, over what she needs.

"So should we avoid the island or take our chances?"

"I don't really know. But I think Hancock can get us farther than what we may be able to do by ourselves, due to her shichibukai status." I paused, before seeking her eye contact. "If we manage to convince her that these men" I jerked a thumb at the four fighters engaging the Sea king "are not like their stereotypes." I was going according to the script. And Ace had died according to that script... But I didn't see another way to break Ace out.

Maybe they shouldn't break in at all and set up an ambush at Marine Ford - but that would mean Luffy would skimp on poison resistance, which he needed later into the series. Ace's death was also an incredible catalyst to Luffy's growth. Me interfering itself seemed like a bad idea now.. But I didn't want Ace to die because I didn't try...

"Two down!" Sanji announced, regarding the Sea Kings.

"Barbeque them, Sanji!" Luffy shouted happily, as Zoro brought down another one.

"We lost two of 'em!" Franky announced "they could be super trouble later on."

"Don't you think it is a bit too calm?" A high pitch voice resonated through the windless, empty sea... Not one wave or wind or bird in the sky...

"We're in the calm belt." Robin announced. "We may be torn limb for limb before we get anywhere near an island or the Grand Line." I saw Chopper and Usopp shiver at the idea, while Sanji and Zoro ignored her. Luffy was more worried about the the two potential meals they had missed, and had not heard her.

Suddenly one of the Sea King's giant fins narrowly missed the marine-turned-pirate ship, generating a huge wave which carried our ship... Some distance...

" no waves, no landmarks... Nami! How far did we drift?" Zoro asked, not really expecting an answer, and too busy keeping the Sea King away to to hear it.

"I lost track..." She muttered, frantically skimming through her maps and with an occasional glance at the log post.

" Attention! Something that looks like a giant sea dragon right underneath the water!" Usopp warned - more like squeaked from the other und of the ship.

"There are a school of strange fish right under the ship..." Chopper announced, his voice shaking in fear and anxiety. " their teeth are worse than a pirranah's!"

"Two sea serpents at 10 O'Clock and 2 O'Clock" Robin's usual calm and collected voice reported..

I shivered at the many pretty images of 'different ways to die' in my head. The calm belt was the last place I wanted to be in. The ship was beginning to experience the might of all the mythical organisms around us, and we were beginning to freak out completely when a certain massive jet of water blew us a hundred feet high... Literally.

" what the heck?" Sanji shouted as we got stuck to the deck due to air pressure.

" Seems like the dragon Usopp spotted did this to us." I said. I could feel us slowing down...

"Still, isn't _this_ high a bit too much?" Robin wondered.

At the cue, I suddenly felt the pressure lifting, and an overwhelming sense of zero gravity settled into my stomach.

"We're faaaalling!" Luffy shouted, happily. I dared to look down, ignoring the rest of the crew. The ship was a lot behind as well as below us... Were we shot in a projectile? I followed my intuition, searching for our landing spot... And beheld the open mouth of the fifth Sea King waiting there...

" Everyone! Hold on to Luffy! Luffy, blow up yourself and shoot us as far as you can!" I shouted, grabbing the nearest part of Luffy, which was his leg. I felt another pair of hand hold on to my waist, which turned out to be Nami.

"On else we'll be digested in that Sea King's stomach." Robin acknowledged me, holding one of Luffy's wrists. Soon all of us were connected directly or indirectly to him...

" _Gomu-Gomu no... Fusen!"_ Luffy shouted out, in Japanese... Why didn't he just say Rubber Balloon? But before I could think of explanations, we're jet propelled at an incredible speed toward an island covered in greenery... Was this _the_ island?

I started pulling myself towards his body as we were thrown towards the fast approaching wilderness, but couldn't make it in time to use him as a safety net against falls.

And I just had to land on a rose bush...

"Every one in one piece?" Robin's voice sailed over to me... The pin-pricks were now beginning to make me painfully aware of their presence all over my back...

"I am DEFINITELY NOT OK! Nami shouted...from above? I opened my eyes and the first thing I say was a giant python- HUH?

" Nami, why are you snuggling in the coils of a dead python?" Zoro sounded as bored as ever... And thankfully, the snake was dead...

"It DIED because of the force of the fall! Nami shouted, making me wonder what Luffy was thinking when he propelled us off... Probably he wasn't thinking at all...

"Wow, that must have been _some_ fall." Usopp muttered, probably gazing hard at Nami. "Then how did _you_ not die?

Another one of Nami's faces deserving preservation as a photo came into place, only this time, it was murderous anger. " I was trying to figure that out as well. And that is what you are worried about?!"

"Sorry Nami!" Luffy's ever cheerful voice announced, not very convincingly, though.

"I am NOT made out of RUBBER!"

"Tessa's the one that really needs me!" Chopper sounded really close to me... I tried to turn my head towards him, but the tiny, but many stings of the thorns kept me from meeting the tiny doctor's gaze. I continued staring at the canopy of the forest and through the small holes among the leaves into the clear sky.

"It's OK, don't try. It's not as bad as it looks." He assured me I could hear the smile of assurance in his voice, just like the doctors on earth. "Can I have some help here?!"

Robin and Usopp hauled me out of the rosebush, under Chopper's guidance. He worked swiftly as he treated my larger pricks and removed the thorns that were still in my body as painlessly as possible. It did hurt, but it was better than having them in my body, so I stayed motionless and helped him help me. I clenced my hands into fists and kept my eyes closed, helping an anime character nurse me to health.

"The lighter pricks will heal themselves, an excess of bandages where they are not needed won't do any good either..." Chopper stated, helping me back to my feet. By now, Nami was down from her python cushion, and Sanji and cooked it into a meal. Zoro was sitting on Luffy to buy time for everyone, primarily me, to be back to proper functioning...

" _Nami-swaan! Robin-chwaan! Soup is served~!"_ Sanji danced around the deliciously smelling soup which had been garnished to absolute perfection. The smell was driving Luffy crazy...

Brook helped me get to the dinner table, which was, for now the floor. Zoro had gotten off Luffy, who was miraculously trying to hold back from devouring everyone's share.

"Sorry about tossing you into the thorny bush." Luffy whispered to me, which seemed a bit out of character... I smiled back at him, trying to mask the pain under a mask of assurance.

"As long as I know it was not intentional, I don't mind." Luffy, shared another toothy grin before reverting back to his old self, predominantly the messy eating habits.

"So, you said that you're trying to change our future, was it?" Robin turning to me. Most of the others were subtlety paying attention, and the others were enjoying Sanji's gift for the kitchen. I internally debated what to say. The truth was not sweet, but I didn't know anything else to say either. By the looks of it, this was going according to script, or trying to go according to script. Revealing the future didn't sound as such a big problem - more heads on the situation would ensure more ideas. And it was not like one small act was completely flipping the coin; no matter what I had done, the future was trying to revert back.

"Well, I can tell you what I have changed and what would have happened and what might happen." I started, and I saw that Nami, Chopper, Robin, Brook, Sanji and Zoro were paying attention. Luffy was _trying_ to pay attention.

"After fighting the marines at the slave market, you all would have met Kuma, and lost the fight with him. But for some reason, he decides to warp you off to goodness knows where instead of just killing you." I paused, drinking another spoonful of soup, and another, and another...

"So we would have never met up?" Nami asked, anxiety in her voice.

"You would have, two years later." I replied, shoving another spoonful of soup. "But that is beside the point. You all end up in different places miles away from each other. Luffy was supposed to end up in the Land of the Kuja tribe." I reached out for seconds.

"The ladies-only island?!" Sanji's eyes- sorry, hearts glittered, but Nami motioned me to continue, so I did.

"Oh, and you, Sanji-kun, were supposed to end up in a place which had an indigenous population of okamas." I smirked at him, as he realized, with outrage, what I had said. I shrugged back at him. "I am only speaking the truth. Anyway, there, he would have come to know of Ace's capture and execution date. He manages to make friends with the queen of the land, Boa Hancock, who smuggles him to Impel Down."

"And I get stuck with trans-genders..." Sanji's voice said into the background, and I only managed to hold back my giggles...

"Then he breaks into prison, and finds a few people he had met before... Like Mr 2, who help him infiltrate deeper into the prison. But because of a certain guard who was a poison type logia devil fruit user, he had to recuperate for about one and a half days before he could continue. By now the people who helped him heal, had decided to help him as well. But when they get to Ace's cell, they come to know that be had already been taken away for the execution. So they all break out of Impel Down, and to increase their own success rate, they also freed all the prisoners they were coming across. This caused a great deal of unrest for the World Government."

By now all jaws had dropped, except Robin's.

"Wait! You mean to say Luffy literally caused a war in _Impel Down by himself?"_ Sanji shouted, banging the ground, for once his table manners shattered.

"And we couldn't do anything other than sit tight in some distant place." Zoro muttered. "Since it is Luffy, and he already did dive head first into a prison before and get away with it, I'm not really surprised."

"But even for Luffy's standards, doing all this without his _nakama..."_ Nami said, thinking deeply about what I had revealed.

"I am most surprised by his ability to attract that prideful, but beautiful queen..." Brook looked at Luffy, who looked astonished by the developments.

"Tessa, you sure I will do all that?" Luffy looked a bit surprised himself, but otherwise his face didn't betray any comments. "Though I admit, I would do it now..."

"If you had followed the original future, yes." I replied, finally, wetting my dry throat with Sanji's soup.

"Then?!" Chopper questioned, enthusiastically.

"He and the other escaped prisoners manage to get on a marine ship thanks to Mr 2's sacrifice..." A few astonished gasps were heard at the comment "...and they manage to get to Marine Ford. The security was top-notch since Ace was a member of one of the yonkou's pirate fleets, and their participation in preventing the execution was expected. There, it is announced to the public that Luffy was the Revolutionary Dragon's son, and Ace was Gol. D. Roger's son." Another wave of gasps rang through the makeshift dinner table.

"Ace is the Pirate King's son?!" Zoro shouted, his _katanas_ rattling noisily.

"What kind of brothers are you finding yourself, Luffy?" Nami's breath hitched as she spoke, and in general, shock and disbelief were thick enough in the air to cut with a knife.

Luffy looked intrigued, but above all happy. He was the only one who didn't seem to be making assumptions in his head and taking facts for what they were.

"The White beard pirates teamed up with the prisoners and fought against the world government, and that was the next hot stuff that filled the headlines. Luffy..." I turned to him, taking my chances to deliver the news directly to the Strawhat pirates captain. "...you manage to free your brother from the execution platform and from the sea stone cuffs, but after sometime Akainu attacks you from behind, you were already in quiet a bad condition, so Ace jumps in and saves you from getting skewed, with his own body."

Luffy's eyes grew wider by a few millimeters, and his fist clenches in realization, sadness, and regret. The others pick up on my tone and delivery of the news, coming to the same conclusion.

I stayed quiet, passively letting them have their time to warp thier mind and heart around the news.

"A-Ace dies..?" Luffy's voice was deeper and slower than usual, containing the severity of the situation.

"According to the old future, yes." I said, rather bluntly. "But now, you've already drifted a lot from that future. You can make better choices and there is a huge chance that Ace will come out alive, this time." I added, with a reassuring smile, which didn't really get to him.

"This time, Ace will be alive, and I will break him out before he sets sail for Marine Ford." Luffy declared, the Strawhat back on his head. "I am not letting him die a second time!" _Technically, this was the first time..._

"Luffy, the story is not over." I declared, stopping him from getting up. "There are a few things to consider before you guys do anything."

I waited until I was sure I had thier complete attention before I continued. "Ace's death is not the only variable to consider over here. _Because_ you guys were separated, you all grew tremendously strong in those two years, and that strength was needed for your future adventures. _Because_ Luffy got poisoned, he built a pretty strong immunity to poison after treatment. _Because_ of Ace's death, Luffy made better decisions with regard to not loosing his _nakama._ " I paused letting my words sink into the crew, and allowing them time to consider thier choices.

"You all benefited just as much as your loss from the entire ordeal. Now, I will leave it to your hands about how you want to alter the future. I shall support you guys whole-heartedly no matter what decision you make. So please think well about this before you decide what to do."

I slowly finished my soup as the Strawhats internally debated thier course of action.

 _Done!_

 _I am a bit busy with studies, so updates may not be regular, but I'll be doing my best!_

 _See you!_


	4. Chapter 4

**I know I am late... and it's my fault that I was out on vacation... I am really sorry... so I made this chapter extra long! Chapter 4, go!**

 _Somewhere in Miami, Florida, USA..._

"Tessa! Lizzie's here!" A voice of a woman in her late 30's voice echoed through the room, much to the confusion of the girl on the carpeted floor... All of her knives and switchblades were exactly were she had left them. her motor controls seemed completely in sync, her mental abilities were also normal...She looked around the room which was supposed to be the bedroom, except there was no bed. The study table in the corner was piling up with books. Blue walls with florescent yellow stars on the ceiling with a straw hat with a red ribbon hanging off a nail on the wall. Otherwise it was empty, as if some thing big was missing. She shifted to her knees quickly at the sound of footsteps... reflex alerted due to experience snapped her hand to her nearest pocket, gripping the hidden knife...

"Tessa!" a blond girl about seventeen years old walked in, abruptly stopping and staring at the girl on the floor... She panicked, not knowing what to do...

"Tessa, where did your bed go? And your laptop?" Lisanna asked, noticing Tessa's prized commodities gone. The girl immediately noticed that the girl Lizzie had not noticed that she was not talking to the person she wanted to talk to. "did you move rooms or something?" Was this 'Tessa' a real life dopleganger of hers- enough for her friend to not be able to tell them apart?

She thought about what she should do. Blowing her cover seemed to be the most stupid course of action. Playing 'Tessa' seemed to be the best. This place itself was much different from what she was familiar with, so having someone who thought she knew her would be very helpful.

"Yeah..." Not willing to entertain more questions, She stood up, looking around nonalchelently, spotting a window-

"Then let's see your new room!" Lizzie declared, pushing the girl by her shoulders out of the room, urging her to lead the way. The girl thought frantically, while putting up an act of playful shyness. She had absolutly no idea about her counterpart's likes, dislikes, behavior...infact, She didn't even know if 'Tessa' was a real name! Playing Tessa was definatly not going to fly for long.

"I-I don't want you to see it before I have set it up!" Tessa was a teen after all, and maybe she would make this excuse. The girl was not sure, but she decided to play the gamble.

Unexpectedly, Lizzie stopped, hopping infront of the confused girl, smirking. Had she said something she would regret saying? She waited apprehensively for the result...

"off course, are you afraid that someone would steal your One Piece?" The raven jerked violently at the all familier name, her mind jumping to conclusions way beyond her reach. Did this Tessa actually find One Piece? Why was it such a casual topic? Did this Tessa person actually keep something that valuable at such an insecure place as a home? or did she do that because she knew people in their right mind would never do this and played bluff? Did she-

"I mean you did pirate a hell lot of it" Lizzie chuckled slightly. The girl was officially confused now. Pirating One Piece? What was this blondie talking about?

"Ok, I have one more hour before I have to leave... So shall we take the stroll?" Lizzie said, an ever present smile etched onto her features. The girl considered it, deciding to agree. She nodded.

"Ok, we take the window!" Lizzie skipped towards the bedroom window sitting on the rail. The raven-head was a bit surprised, but she decided to agree. Another set of footsteps prompted the raven to quickly shut the door, so as to not reveal the missing bed to the world...

"Tessa! Use the door when you want to go out! You'll break something sooner or later if you always use a window to get one floor down!" _A floor?_ Seems like her counterpart was quiet an eccentric person... people here, as far as she could see, were dressed similar to what she was used to... but they were very much unguarded... she couldn't even see a dagger on the 'friend'.The woman voiceing the warning appeared...why did this woman look exactly like her mother? She suppressed her emotions with minimal effort- after all, this was a different place. If she looked exactly like Tessa, this was probably Tessa's mother...

"Fine." 'Tessa' replied, walking towards the staircase at the end if the corridor. She could hear Lizzie following her, and they quietly slid down the steps and a rather obvious route to the door, she was thankful for that- it wouldn't sit well for her to look like she would not know the way to her own front door...

"Now that was strange..." Lizzie skipped in front of the raven-haired girl, cocking an eyebrow at her. "You always just jump out of the window regardless of what your mom says." Lizzie slowed down to her pace, walking alongside her.

"I thought maybe for once I should listen to her." She said, putting up a well apracticed forced smile. "She is my mom, right? She only wants what's good for me." Lizzie's dissatisfaction was not lost on her...

"Now that's not how you normally talk..." Lizzie paused, suddenly grabbing the girl's shoulder. Her reflexes almost caused her to slice the blondie's hand off... but she managed to keep her switchblade within her pocket as Lizzie stared deep into her eyes...she was afraid of what Lizzie would see in her eyes. She was afraid of every person she saw on the street... would they recognise her? Would they chase her away like they always do? Will she have to kill to live here as well? What were the complications of killing in this world. She had enough blades to defend herself... hopefully...

"Testarossa... " Lizzie paused, pulling the girl back to reality. "Is something wrong? Are you in trouble? You don't seem like yourself." What did 'testarossa' mean? And she had thought that she was good at keeping her emotions in check... this girl was way too observant.

'Tessa, I am your best friend...you can tell me stuff that you can't even tell your parents. I may be able to help you, right?" The raven-head watched her 'best friend' carefully, debating whether or not to make a run for it...

"I am fine, really..." she said, smiling yet another forced smile...

"No you're not." Lizzie said, squeezing her shoulders "You have a high fever my friend, and a very down to the dumps look radiating behind that forced smile! Gimme your mobile phone, I should call your mother." Lizzie's palm was dancing in front of her, asking for a 'fone'.

"You really need not worry, I'm just tired of being cooped up at home."

"You can't lie to me!" Lizzie announced, triumphantly. We have known each other since we were six!" _No, we haven't._ She was beginning to get out of options. She stared at the bobbing hand in front of her...What was this 'fone' anyway?

"I just got out and you want to send me back home? Some friend you are..." the girl sulked throwing her head to the opposite direction.

Lizzie sighed dramatically "for someone with fever, you sound very energetic. If you are so sure then I won't force you." Lizzie let go of her shoulders, continuing her walk " how about continuing to the pool?" Even though that wasn't what most people suggested to a person with a fever, the raven nodded. The idea of a pool was tame and it didn't sound very dangerous...

"That was one of the smallest episodes of fever I have ever seen!" Lizzie exclaimed. " How can a person get high fever for fifteen minutes?" The girl didn't answer, silently following Lizzie through the gate and beside a pool. She strolled around for a while, before sitting down. She had noticed the absence of people at the gate, and she couldn't risk asking the blondie a reason.

"Would you like to take a dip?" Lizzie asked, shaking a thumb at the pool. The raven shook her head, pointing at her cloths.

"You forgot? They provide swim-suits...you have come here countless times!" The blond pushed her to the front of a door. "You change here, I'll take that room." The blond pointed to an adjacent room skipping in. The raven took her chances and entered the room, finding washed, blue, full-body swim-suits of many sizes hanging inside. She changed quickly, stalking out of the room and positioned herself at the edge of the pool, sitting down without touching the water... she dumped her cloths beside her, still armed with all of her blades.

Just when she thought the blondie was taking too much time... Suddenly, she was pushed into the water, and saw an innocently smiling Lizzie trying to hold her laughs back...

The water felt different... her limbs were starting to get non-responsive and her entire body was tiring... and she was feeling sick and weak. Fighting was futile as she sunk into the water and swallowed her first gulp of water... which was salty...

Realization seized her...she had been careless, thinking that the blondie did not know her identity... and she would pay for that with her life. She shouldn't have trusted some random person who walked in one day into her life... Terror, and desperation had seeped into her usually calm and analytical mind...

Her brain was starting to shut down, and she was going in and out of consciousness as an arm suddenly gripped her upper arm, dragging her back to the surface. She was so relieved to be back on solid ground and had completely missed her saviour... coughing up water, the first person she saw was her assailant...Lizzie.

Instantly she was on her knees, grabbing her switchblade from her dry clothes. She knocked the girl's ankles from under her, straddling her and holding her hands down with her knees, the switchblade at her throat. All of that happened as one, fluid motion.

As her vision cleared a second later, she saw fear on the blond teen's eyes and a stare clearly stating that she had never fought for her life before... but observation could wait.

"Why did you try to kill me?!" She demanded, staring at the immobiled Lizzie under her.

"I-I never thought that would kill you!" Lizzie stuttered. The raven could see that she was not lying. But how could that be true?

"Who could possibly not die of drowning?" The raven demanded, her blade inching a millimetre closer.

"Tessa is the best swimmer in the school despite being one of the youngest swimmers. She would never drown like that. You are not Tessa, are you?" Lizzie gazed into her eyes. The raven realised that maybe her assumptions were incorrect about the girl. But she needed a lot of answers and also had a big decision to make, now that Lizzie knew she was fake. She let the blade touch the blond's throat, sending a shudder of apprehension though her.

"No. I have no idea who this Tessa is. But you need to answers some of my questions if you want me to answer any of yours."

"O-Ok" Lizzie refrained from nodding her head.

"Do you really not recognise me as anyone other than this 'Tessa'?" The raven started, keeping her hand touched to the blond's pulse, checking her for lies.

"No."

"What were you referring to when you were talking about One Piece at the house?"

"The anime...?"

"What is that?"

"Japanese animations." The raven had no idea what that was, but she realised it, provably, was nothing to do with the treasure.

"Who is this Tessa?"

"She's my best friend. She's a great swimmer who could never drown and she is crazy about animals."

"What does she do for a living?"

"She isn't working. She's still a student."

"Where is this place?"

"Cedar Rapids."

"Where is that?"

"Iova."

"Where is that?"

Now Lizzie was starting to feel awkward... "USA"

"Where is that?"

"Really? On Earth."

The raven saw that this was not going to go anywhere. And that most probably Lizzie was saying something that even the most ignorant person would know, which, off course she would not. She could see that this frail girl had zero experience fighting, and could not ever be a threat. And that this blond was the only one who may help her. She felt the girl under her suck in a breath, and looked down to her.

"What have you done to Tessa?" Lizzie asked, looking quiet threatening for a person with no leverage. The raven chuckled at the expression, before answering.

"Like I said, I have no idea what you are talking about. Now, if you attempt another stunt like that" Lizzie could see her eyes get sharper and her grip on the knife got firm "I _will_ kill you."

"OK! OK..." Lizzie agreed quickly, hinting with her eyes that she would never do anything like that again. "But seriously, do I look like a threat to you?"

" No. And that's precisely the only reason you are still alive." She flicked the blade closed as she slipped it into her pocket and stood up. Lizzie picked herself up rather slowly as she saw the raven snatch her cloths from the edge of the pool and stalked back to the changing room.

Lisanna was dizzy with relief when she her 'not friend's left her alone. She felt saddened that the face that was her best friend's had tried to kill her. Lizzie trusted Tessa with her life...but now there were two of them, and her's was nowhere to be found. She would be lying if she said she was not scared of the Tessa that was currently occupying the dressing room. She didn't know if this Tessa had really not done anything to Tessa... she shook her head, displacing the thought. She walked back into the room. Now, if she strained her ears, she could hear all the knives or blades playing next door. An involuntary shudder passed through her system. She changed quickly and quietly, thinking of her position. She couldn't leave this person here, she would end up killing people for touching her. She was doubtful of a long life-expectancy if she stayed with her. Placing her mobile back in her pocket, she opened the door, and was face to face with the Tessa - dopleganger. The raven backed off, and Lizzie exited the now congested changing room.

It was already past one hour and the blond knew her mother was waiting for her... she started walking briskly towards the gate with the raven tailing her half-heartedly, a good ten feet distance between them.

"What are you thinking?" The raven asked.

"That's not your business." As if on cue, the familiar ring-tone and the vibrations deep in her pocket made her aware of her mother's call. She dug the communication device out and ( 'Tessa's' inquisitive stare was not lost on her) and accepted the call, holding the mobile to her ear. "Mom?"

"Honey, there's an emergency in the hospital, and I really need to be there... would you mind spending another four hours at Tessa's?" Lizzie stared at the raven in front of her, wondering where all that luck was coming from. She wasn't very keen on spending time with someone who clearly was not a friend, but she didn't want ten murder cases on Tessa when she came back...

"Sure..." Lizzie replied, after a momentary pause.

"You don't seem so exited about it..." the voice from the mobile noted.

"It's not whatever you think it is, mom." Lizzie may not want to tell her mom the truth, but she didn't want to lie either.

"OK...have fun!" Lizzie could hear a lot of shuffling and the bang of a door closing in the background...

"Bye..." she cut the call, staring at the raven, who was in turn, staring at the communication device which was still snug in her hand. The stare, coupled with the fact that the raven didn't know where USA was, gave her only one conclusive answer. She raised the device to 'Tessa's' face, causing her to back off.

"What is this?" Any person from no matter which rural world (advanced enough to make the t-shirts and jeans that the raven was wearing) would know what a mobile phone was...

"A communication device?" The raven replied, with a hint of a question in the statement. Lizzie sighed, realising things were even worse than what she thought them to be.

"What is a mobile phone?" The blond tried again, not really expecting an answer. The raven thought for a while before finally sighing.

"I am not from here."

"I already know that. No one in this world other than the Bushmen of the Kalahari or some other indigenous tribe would not know something like a mobile phone. And another thing is that we cannot help each other without mutual trust..." Lizzie and the Raven had reached the entrance to the pool.

" I am not obliged to inform a person who tried to kill me of my personal details." The raven hissed out, in an unmistakable icy tone. Lizzie did not look impressed at all about.

"You know? If I really wanted to kill you, I wouldn't have pulled you back out of the water." Lizzie said, making sure to sound bored.

The raven stared at the face of the self proclaimed best friend of 'Tessa'. It was indeed true that Lizzie was the only person around the pool when she had been pushed in. And if that was so, she could have been the only person who could have helped her. And for now, she couldn't afford to not trust Lizzie at all, as she was the only thing that may help her until she could get back to Paradise. The raven sighed, deciding to start off with details that were absolutely necessary.

"My name is Ashley." The blond cocked an eyebrow at the sudden information. Dhe paused for a moment before greeting the raven back.

"Nice to meet you, Ashley." But Lizzie didn't stop there... " First things first, loose the switchblades and knives. They are illegal here. And second, do not threaten people with death under any sircumstances. You'll find yourself behind bars. And-"

The raven cut her off, speaking smoothly under the same tone... "great advice, exept I don't intend to follow it." She paused, sucking in a breath. "I need to get back to Paradise. Do you know of that place?"

"Sure," Lizzie smiled. "It's just around the corner." Lizzie knew that the 'paradise' the raven was talking about was most defiantly not the place she was going to lead her to- especially if a person didn't even know how to operate a phone... but she still wanted to annoy the raven by leading her to a nursery...

"I'd also like to borrow a Den-Den mushi." The blong literealy jumped at the last word uttered by her guest. She turned her full attention to the raven before clearing her doubt.

Lizzie took a deep breath and intently studied the girl's visage,"What?"

"I said I'd like to borrow a Den-Den mushi." Ashley repeated, slightly annoyed. Lizzie couldn't comprehend the piece of information... was the 'Paradise' Ashley was talking about what she thought it was?

"Did I say something strange?" Ashley glanced at Lizzie in half slitted eyes, managing to look intrigued and bored at the same time. Lizzie knew that there was no point at wasting half an hour and acting surprised. She braced herself for the possibilities as she once again questioned the raven.

"So, are you from the first half of the Grand Line?"

"So people here do know about the Grand Line..." Ashley paused, "that makes it easier for me-"

"No! It doesn't make it easier for anybody!" Lizzie announced, hopping in front of the girl. "Not in my wildest dreams did I even think of this possibility..."

"Slow down. What are you talking about? What's wrong about being from the Grand Line?"

" _Everything_ is wrong about being from the Grand Line!" Lizzie glanced at Ashley's confusion before replying, "you want me to give it to you straight?" The raven nodded.

"But before that, may I ask you to show me your Haki?" The raven was instantly on her toes.

"Do you have a specific reason to do that?" Her eyes were slits and her brows were nearly touching. The blond held her arms up in surrender.

"I am not trying to do anything that you are thinking about. I just need to know if this is not a prank." Her lips quirked up in a smirk. "Your dopleganger has enough reasons to take revenge on me." Ashley didn't know what the blond meant by that statement, but still she decided to trust the blond who was watching her expectantly. She concentrated just enough to see Lizzie's motor controls slightly failing, obvious be the shaking knees and closing eyes...

"Conqueror's Haki...?" Lizzie slurred, and Ashley let up on her Haki.

"You know quite a lot." Ashley watched as Lizzie steadied herself.

"OK, so as I was saying, I'll tell you what's going on. It's your choice whether to believe it or not." Lizzie paused and motioned the raven to follow her to a nearby seat, and sitting down. Ashley took the hint and settled down beside her, even though not too close.

"My name is Lisanna Matson. I am 17, and my best friend is Testarossa, who is your dopleganger. She and I have been together since grade school, and are quiet inseparable... untill now." Ashley didn't miss the distasteful glare sent her way, she ignored it.

"Now, both of us watch something I have already mentioned to you- anime. They are ...uh... television series...? Anyway, the point is that one of them is called One Piece. I guess that name is more than familiar to you."

"You didn't say anything about the treasure." Ashley hissed annoyed.

"Actually, it's a book about a certain guy who wants to become the Pirate King by finding One Piece. So he enters the Grand Line and gathers his crew on the way."

"That's not exactly a new story, is it? I bet a lot of people are doing that." The raven looked pretty bored. "That wouldn't sell."

"Actually, it's ranked no.1 of all mang- sorry, books. But that's beside the point. What I want to say is that that is a story. It's not something that exists. The Grand Line, Haki, Paradise, New World, Devil Fruits.. all of them are a writer's imagination in this world." Lizzie glanced at the raven who met her gaze with questioning- not shocked- eyes. Lizzie was confused at the small chuckle that escaped the raven's lips. "You're not upset?"

"Why should I be?" Ashley replied "I just discovered the connection between this world and Paradise." Ashley sighed.

"I just told you that there is no connection between them." Ashley shook her head.

"You think so because you don't know the complete story." Ashley slipped a hand into her pocket, drawing out a switchblade.

"Please put that away, that was uncalled for..."

"You know my name and nothing else." The raven slashed the air in front of her, as Lizzie watched. The air parted as if the blade was drawing a line through water..." and I am a Devil Fruit user who can cut through time and space." Ashley glanced at Lizzie's astonished face and chuckled. "As long as I know the connection between two places, I can cut a door through it and get anywhere I want... " Ashley thrust the blade into the air, and Lizzie jerked back at from the blade dancing in front of her eyes even though Ashley's thrust was in the opposite direction."See? It's paramecia and it's pretty powerful.

"So you purposefully came here." Ashley slumped. "And still you say you didn't see Tessa."

"I don't know what happened to her, OK?" Ashley exclaimed "This is the first time I am cutting through different dimensions, and it's stranous. I won't be able to go back for at least 3 days. I couldn't have hidden her!" The raven let out a sigh and slumped her back, leaning against the lumbar of the seat. Simultaneously Lizzie straightened up, glaring at the raven.

"I'll be stuck with you for three days?!"

"Unfortunately, yes." The raven smiled the glare away, infuriating the blond even further. "The first time, I tried cutting back to Paradise, but I can't completely get through. I guess it was a longshot to even try getting so far." There was silence for two whole minutes before Lizzie prodded the raven, asking for her attention

"Did you choose to land in that very same room in that very house at exactly that time?"

"I have control on where I want to land if I have been there before. But for this world I just set the coordinates and somehow landed in your friend's room." Ashley replied, looking away again

"And was it never a problem before? No one disappered or anything? " Lizzie questioned standing up and pulling out her mobile.

" Nope, that never happened... "the raven got up as a reflex, when her partner did.

"Then probably that this world is trying to play by its own rules." Lizzie whispered, "and now I know Tessa maybe had her phone on her. She's out of covarage area."

"is that supposed to mean something?"

"Yes... It means you and Tessa swapped places. "

" how can you conclude that? "

" Tessa does not go anywhere without her beloved phone. And there are no places nearby that does not have signal. You didn't choose to land in her room and I know she had to be there before you cut through Paradise and came here. And there are laws of science in this world that are obeyed under any circumstances. According to that, nothing can be created from scratch. Which means if you suddenly popped up somewhere, something of the same mass may disappear, since the rules don't know what to make of it. And another rule is that the same thing cannot exist at two places at once." Lizzie sucked in a huge breath. "So, when you cut into this world, you probably took Tessa's place and she used the same route to get to where you were, back in Paradise. I didn't know someone could be lucky enough to visit the One Piece World... So, where were you?

"I was at the Human Shop in Sabaody Archipelago... but wait, About that second law, how can you say that your friend and I are the same thing?" Ashley Jerked her head back to Lizzie's direction.

"You may not know it, But Tessa is a lot like you. You look like carbon copies, and you behave a lot like her-though she is not as touchy as you and definitely is a better friend to saltwater. Probably you are the same individuals from different worlds. OK, so you were at the slave trading centre... Grove 1, right?"

Ashley frowned, "you know too much for a person who only read a story about it." Lizzie smiled at the statement.

"I am a die-hard fan of One Piece. So, why did you want to get away from there?"

"Do I look like I enjoy being sold? Beside, Straw Hat Luffy was already in Sabaody Archipelago. He wrecks havoc no matter where he is. I have a bounty on my head, so I can't afford to stay there." Ashley noticed Lizzie's astounded expression and frowned. "What's so astounding?"

"Luffy was there?!" Lizzie exclaimed, clutching Ashley's shoulders and shaking her, hard. Ashley shrugged her hands away.

"You sound like you're his best friend."

"I don't care what it sounds like to you! I can't believe Tessa's _that_ lucky!"

"About encountering a pirate? Hardly. Besides, if your friend looks like me, best case scenario is that she's already in deep trouble."

"Why?"

"Because I am worth 200 million." Lizzie jaw virtually dropped to the ground. She stared at her best friend look-alike, contemplating about her course of action... Ashley smirked. "surprised?"

"N-Not really... Luffy's worth 500 million..." Ashley denied, shaking her head. Ashley met her gaze immediately.

"No he isn't. Strawhat's worth 300 million." She corrected. Lizzie's brows shot up.

"Of course..."

"Besides, how do you even know Strawhat? Our world is just a story to you, ain't it?" Ashley added, starting to walk away.

"One Piece is his story... Monkey D Luffy's journey to the Pirate King's throne." Lizzie whispered, with serious way beyond Ashley's understanding. "Luffy broke in to Ennis lobby and earned that bounty, didn't he? He also did in the Crocodile, Buggy the Clown, the Cp9..."

"You know way too much for my comfort... but then, if you knew so much, why don't you know about me?" Ashley looked uncomfortable.

"Probably because you never crossed paths with him."

"Are you saying that you know _everything_ that happens to him?" Ashley scoffed, coming closer to Lizzie. "I guess your lucky you don't know much about me... I would have already killed you if you did."

"That aside, you said you were worth 200 million... so Tessa will be hunted down?" Lizzie brushed the threat off, closing the distance to Ashley. "What are you to deserve that high a bounty?"

"That's classified." Ashley hissed, hostility short-lived, but potent.

"Then bring her back, NOW!" Lisanna demanded, her eyes reflecting the hostility back at Ashley chuckled, easily seeing the panicked and desperate girl within the angry one.

"I told you, I _can't._ I'll be here for about three days, regardless of if you like it or not!" Ashley stated firmly, her tone clearly ending the discussion. But Lizzie was not going to end it that easily.

"Then do something by which I can contact her...I am not letting her get executed in your stead-She's never held a knife exept to butter her bread!"

"That may be possible, but I need at least a few hours before I can make a meaningful connection... and remember, that elongates my stay here and your friend's stay _there._ "

"I understand..." Lizzie sighed. but her desire to know her best friend's whereabouts were weighing more than her need to ignore her. "So please make the connection, I need to know what is happening to her."

 **OK, done! It was done hurriedly, so forgive me for typos...and as I said before, updates may not be regular... please tell me if you want certain things to happen, or if you want to criticise my work, and please don't hesitate!**

 **Ja mata!**


	5. Chapter 5

_Hi! its been s long time, and I have no excuses…. But I already warned you about irregular updates… here goes chapter 5_

It had been about half an hour since I had finished my python soup. But most of the Strawhats had not touched the remainder of their soups since my announcements. Luffy was eating, albeit only about 20% as fast as he used to when under normal conditions. Zoro was staring at his soup as if some insect had fallen in, only that he didn't seem bothered by it. Nami and Robin were also not very interested in Sanji's cooking talents, probably for the first time, along with Usopp, Chopper and Brook. Franky had already finished his soup, who's cup lay forgotten on the cyborg's lap. Sanji chose to think as he finished his own soup.

If the Strawhats took the right call and managed to get Ace out alive, then it would definitely be a game changer. I would probably 'loose my ability to predict the future'. The Strawhats may choose to sail the New World instead of waiting their rightful two years. White Beard may survive. Akainu and Aokiji may never clash. Punk hazard and it's experiments may never occur at all...

Was I creating too much of a hassle in this world? I shouldn't be meddling with this world at all. And Sabo...

"Luffy, I forgot to tell you but because Ace died Sabo-" I cut myself off, cursing myself for not thinking this through carefully before speaking, especially for not reading the atmosphere. One look around the round table, and I knew my half sentence had done the damage it had intended to do.

"Sabo?" Sanji muttered, questioning eyebrows cocking my direction.

"Sabo's dead. What could possibly happen?" Luffy now sounded _way_ out of character. I was startled by that question, especially since it came out of Luffy's mouth. I swallowed those feelings and focused on the situation at hand.

"It's something that happens two years later... Not important..." I tried brushing it off, but apparently, Luffy was not willing to let it go.

" _What happened to Sabo?_ " He asked, slowly and carefully, his voice letting me know that there was no running from the question. This was not the Luffy I knew. That one didn't catch on stuff so quickly. That one was only serious about stuff that inevitably presented themselves before him. That one didn't sound so much like... _a threat._ Or maybe he was never a threat to me before now.

"Ace's death causes his devil fruit to be resurrected and ends up in Sabo's hands." I said quietly.

"Sabo's alive?!" Luffy exclaimed, seemingly back to his normal disposition. Luffy didn't have these mood-swings in the anime. So now, I wasn't so sure about _all_ my assumptions to the Strawhats actually happened or going to happen, as a lot of them were facilitated by Luffy's personality. Was I on the wrong ship?

"Yes. He suffered some memory loss from the accident, but otherwise OK." I was careful to be private about talking to him. Luffy looked _exactly_ as he does two years later when he finds out about Sabo. Had he actually changed, or did the mangaka choose to not portray Luffy's everyday life in detail? The latter didn't seem likely. The change was barely visible, but for someone who has been very much into the series for so long... They stood out.

"I think the best course of action is to refrain, but from the crucial fails." Robin announced, addressing everyone. "Unlike Tessa's scenario, this time Luffy isn't alone." That sounded reasonable, except that it was easier said than done.

"That ain't so easy. And because you are here, his future may be different...unlike Luffy, I don't know if you guys can keep up with all of Luffy's enemies." I countered her. I left out the fact that a wasn't sure if this was their future at all...

"That's what you're here for, right?" Usopp replied, his face screaming that it was so obvious. "You can just place the coordinates of our new future!" Why hadn't I thought of that before? Worst of all, how do I explain this?

"Yes, that definitely solves this!" Nami sounded relieved. "You can easily get us through about two years of the New World, right?"

I needed to get out of this fix...

"Judging by whatever she has said untill now, there was no anomaly regarding character, or feasibility." Robin said, addressing everyone other than me. "this doesn't sound like fluke..."

"I have to agree." Zoro added. I could virtually see my time running out...I needed to fix this, and do it now.

I took a deep breath, calming my nerves and gathering up time, It was the debut of my next big lie...

"About that, I don't think I can help much." I waited for the questioning glances which came a tad too early. "I made a lot of huge prophecies, and made some major change to your destinies. There is a limit to how much I can do that sort of thing." I paused, gathering some much needed character analysis. Luffy didn't seem to think much about the development, neither did Chopper. But the others weren't quiet buying it. I combed through my brain, which provided me with the usual flow of ideas...

" when Luffy uses third gear, does he not become incapable of fighting for the same amount of time? So you only believe him?" Luffy was starting to wander off into the forest...

"So, what _can_ you predict now?" Nami asked, and like everyone else, ignored Luffy getting distracted.

"only very small time stuff." I leaned towards Robin prompting her closer with a finger... I let my voice fall to a whisper, and spoke privately into her ear," Such as, Luffy eats some poisonous mushrooms" Robin nodded, letting me know that she understood my reasons...

"What was that?" Nami has taking turns looking at both of us. "There is no need of secrets!" I watched Luffy, who had long since lost interest, explore his way to the mushrooms. I didn't really hear what everyone was saying. I simply followed whatever the Strawhat's captain was doing. He picked up some of the mushrooms, sniffing them before popping them into his mouth.

 _Bingo!_

 _XXX_

 _"_ So, currently, we are on the Kuja tribe's turf." Nami announced. " We've lost most of our rations- except What we have on us, and Tessa's bag. We cannot set sail from here."

"Because of severe danger of loss of flesh...but I have no flesh! Ha ha ha..."

"And I have patched up Luffy... so he's hungry..." Chopper sighed, ignoring Luffy's huge grin directed to him.

"According to the old future, Luffy gets cured of the mushrooms by the tribe, who mistakenly think that he is a girl. That's how he got in. " I supplied. "so how do we do it this time?"

"I think the girls should try to do something about it." Zoro suggested. "we'll not receive any cooperation if we try."

"and what about food?"

"The python's fangs and bones are left." Sanji muttered. "Otherwise we're out of rations."

"How about we let Luffy and Tessa scour the forest for edibles?" Robin suggested. " Luffy has the biggest appetite among us. And he can probably fight off anything dangerous he encounters in the forest. Tessa can prevent him from getting into unnecessary trouble." Why were they choosing me of all people? I looked at Luffy uncertainly, but he was already starting off into the forest...

"Plus, you can read the immediate future. You are better prepared than any of us to prevent Luffy from walking into unnecessary situations." Robbin added. I nodded slowly before scrambling to catch up with Luffy...I was the most happiest person in the world to be able to take a walk with a future 500 million worth pirate!

 _XXX_

 _At the forest camp of the strawhats..._

" frankly speaking, I can't verify Tessa's story. She seems to genuinely be able to read the fate of people, but i have never heard of a devil fruit which does that." Robin stated, addressing the rest of the crew. "But what I do know is that the same face has a bounty."

She pulled out a crumpled, but nearly folded piece of paper and unfolded it, letting it's contents face the rest of the crew. "I found this in one of the drawers of the marine ship. And I have heard of this person when I was with the Crocodile."

"200 million?! That's more than Zorro's bounty!" Usopp exclaimed, his voice a tad squeaky.

"Crimson Blade Ashley... But why would she make that kind of a cover?" Nami wondered out aloud. "Carrying that kind of a bounty, she shouldn't be able to trust anyone but herself. And that story wouldn't last either."

" Then why did she approach us? Probably she's doing it because someone paid her off to get us into trouble." Zoro muttered, his eyes decisive.

"She could easily accomplished a lot, despite being only seventeen. When I was with the Crocodile, we were planning to recruit her. But she refused." Robin announced. "Back then she was fifteen, but she had already killed a lot of people and was very cold, calculative, and never spoke if not needed, even to the point of ignoring others."

Robin looked up from the poster. "But what is strikingly similar in Ashley and Tessa's case is that both would have been immeasurably knowledgeable about their targets, if it was us in this case."

"Tessa-san does not sound like what you described." Sanji noted, twining his fingers around each other. " She sounded more like a person who was trying to cope up with something. But I agree with you that she seems to be hiding something."

"Then why did you send someone that dangerous with Luffy?" Chopper cried out, his high pitched voice extremely worried.

"Luffy would not be able to keep whatever is said here a secret from Ashley. And even if she attacks him, he would probably be able to fend her off. But she won't attack him." Robin answered. " Her story is already dicy and she knows it. It would be too much of a risk to make an enemy of the captain so soon."

"What else do you know about Ashley-san?" Sanji glanced at Robin, directing the question to her.

"According to the records, Ashley is a Devil Fruit user, but it's ability is unknown. People who have fought her seem to say that her blades were all over the place, as if they had a life of their own; in other words, she's very skilled with edged weapons. She is also proficient in handling any and all blades she comes across."

"So what should we do when she comes back?" Usopp looked around hurriedly.

"Pretend we don't know anything yet." Nami said. "Does anyone know the contents of her bag?"

"She was always carrying it. Even when we were thrown to this island, she was holding on to it." Usopp replied.

"For now, we can pretend to have a natural relationship, but be careful around her, everyone. Even though she's so cute..." Sanji muttered, his eyes in hearts.

"Tessa-san will probably never show me her panties in that case," Brook muttered, his hollow sockets obviously imagining it.

"Now is not the time for that!"Nami shouted. "We are in crisis right now!"

"No, Brook is right. She will be on her toes, and we ought to be on ours as well." Zoro replied, checking his back for the tenth time. " Is her bag here?"

"No... She took it."

"Luffy can be hurt by edged weapons, right? Would she be stocking those up in her bag?" Usopp said, Turing to Zoro, their edged weapon specialist.

"No." Zoro said, shortly. "It's hard to rummage all over a bag to find your weapon when you need it immediately."

"For now," Nami addressed the group. "Let's just wait for them to come back. I don't want her to eavesdrop on us. Why are they taking so long?"

XXX

I was feeling sorry for Luffy's food. That lion like animal would have become great friends if they had met a bit later...

"How are we gonna carry it back?" I asked, eying at the bulk of the beast at Luffy's feet.

"Is that enough?" Luffy said, innocently. I mentally sighed. Maybe for him it was not...

"Still how are we gonna haul all of this back?" I refrained, glancing at the Pirate captain.

"Why? Pick it up, and carry it back!"

"...*sigh* sure..."

XXX

Why was the atmosphere at the camp so tense? Everybody looked stiff, and unnaturally silent. Luffy had acted on his own advice and 'picked it up and carried it back'. I gave back Usopp's SOS crackers back with a smile and he took it back without a word. The forests birds and the evening cicadas were the only ones talking in the camp. I felt uncomfortable, but I did not think they were doubting my story so soon- I hadn't done anything too suspicious...yet. I stared at the grass at my feet at a loss of anything else to do.

"We need to get in contact with the Queen." Robin muttered." And what about the men? And Brook?" I looked up abruptly.

"I don't know..." I said, slightly shaking my head. "I can't foresee that far yet. Or something of that much significance."

"Does your devil fruit need anything other than faces to function well?" Nami asked, joining the conversation.

"No, but my abilities are severely affected by making too big changes in the future or large scale prophecies." I invented quickly. Then I resumed staring at the grass... It was my best buddy at the moment, it didn't ask questions or care anything about me.

"I'll just go to the coast for a moment." I announced. As abruptly as the announcement I excused myself from the crew, who were making me feel quiet uneasy.

I strolled through the thin forest and onto the coast, enjoying the bird calls and the cicada's shrieks. The coastal sunset was looking glamorous, the painted orange vibrantly displaying it's beauty. The picturesque landscape was...obstructed by a ship, the ship we had come in. Its outside was a wreck, but the inside was still hospitable. But this ship was never going back into the sea

I knew it was probably just a waste of time, but I rummaged about for anything edible through the drawers. All I found was saltwater soaked bits of food cans, but otherwise there was nothing...

One particular drawer held documents and records of the pirates that... The marines were, probably, doing something about currently, and I found my current pirate friends in the list. As I flipped through, older records surfaced. A robber from the north blue, a pirate from the new world, a candidate for the shichibukai status, a marine turned pirate... the last one was about one of the high bounty heads, but they had, apparently lost her three months ago...

I shut the spiral bound record and out flew photoshootof a few of the people I had seen about among the records, one of them had striking pink hair, some had exotic clothing, a young girl probably my age- wait, was that not me?! Why was my photo here? I didn't belong in this world at all!

I whipped through the records again, sweating a bit even in the cold evening air. I searched for my name but it was not there... Maybe there was a counterpart of me in this world and her name was different? I wiped the cold sweat off my forehead and flipped the photo on to its back and spotted the name scribbled in a corner... Ash- Lee?

No, _Ashley._

Bounty, 200? So I wasn't worth much? I sighed, relieved... I went through the records and found Ashley. She was a freelancer, taking up any job or sides, as long as she was paid well. She originated from North Blue, but not much was known about her, she was extremely skilled with edged weapons and was also a Devil Fruit user, but the ability of her Fruit was unknown. She was a serious threat untill three months ago, when she completely went off radar. But what I got next, nearly stopped my heart.

'Crimson Blade' Ashley. Bounty, 200 million Beri, extremely dangerous, to be arrested on sight. If needed, lethal injury is permitted.

 _My head, was worth 200 million._

And I could be shot to kill, and the law keepers would be happy.

And there was defiantly a chance that at least some of the Strawhats knew my face and had concluded that I was Ashley. And since I, in this world, joined the side that offered me more money, would they think I am conspiring against them or something?

My story to them was a lie, but now that was irrelevant. According to my profile here, I made a cover up to get close to them and ultimately betray them. The Strawhats were not the most likeable people for the ones they had not met-after all, they were pirates. And they would be on their tip toes for any thing of this sort happening!

I was in a mess so deep that even the gods won't be able to pull me out of it, even if they existed. I had no idea what to do... Desperation was drowning out my reasoning. I was already an enemy in their eyes, and there was nothing I could do to make it look like I was not. I could go back to that camp, I couldn't face them, no matter what I come up with.

By now I was on my knees, with the wet documents scattered around me. I was not Ashley, but if could not prove to others that they were mistaken, would pay for her mistakes. I could not move or blink, I simply stared at the metal wall of the a ship, with my own photo to clutched in my right hand and my documents all over the ship's damp, wooden floor. I clutched my rider bag's strap on my left shoulder, knowing that crushing things won't do any good.

I jumped to my toes, gathering the documents about 'Ashley' as fast as I could. I stuffed it into my rider's bag, between my biology book. I could not let the Strawhats find this under any circumstances. If, by a miracle, none of them had recognized me as 'Ashley', I could pull this off for a little while longer. Replacing the straps on my shoulder, I half jogged, half walked out of the room and onto the deck and came face to face with a green haired man in a white shirt and three _katanas_ hanging from his waist.

 _Zoro._

I took a weary step back, hoping that he didn't see me as an object of suspicion. I was not religious, but I prayed like a maniac in those few moments.

"Why are you so surprised to see your own face?" His deep voice and his chin alerted me to the fact that was still holding Ashley's picture in my hand and had forgotten all about it in my frenzy.

He knew.

And he knew that I knew.

OK, done! Thanks for sticking with me so far! Reviews are always appreciated!


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks for sticking around so long... I lost my phone and 3 chapters along with it. No reviews this time either...:( Anyway enjoy!**

 _He knew._

 _And he knew that I knew._

"Zoro... I swear I don't know this person." I pleaded, shaking my head slightly, as I took a step back. But Zoro was chuckling...

"First time I am seeing someone who doesn't know them self!" His hand was already at one of his sword's hilt, a tiny glint from the slightly unsheathed blade... He was scary. And I didn't want that sword against me for any reason.

"Zoro, I really do not have any idea who this is! I am-"

"How do you plan on proving that?" Robin's no-nonsense voice appeared to come from behind the broken mast... And I was sure that if the both of them were here, the rest of them were most definitely there too... This is bad!

"I seriously trusted you." Luffy's voice floated down from the mast, and for some reason, I felt truly down. That was one person I did not want to betray... I hadn't done it yet, but they were convinced that I had.

"Luffy, I would never betray you!" I announced, making eyecontact and imploring my innocence through them. "I know I look a lot like this person, but I am not that person."

"Oh, is that so? Then we were mistaken, guys!" Luffy let a toothy grin out.

"Don't be so trusting!" Nami shouted, pissed off.

"A beauty like you shouldn't be so good at manipulation..." Sanji muttered. Even though he didn't look aggressive yet, by his posture I knew he wouldn't let me off the hook either.

"I need you to believe me. When I have the opportunity, I'll defiantly prove to you that I am Tessa, and not some Ashley!"

"As far as I know about you, you will take up any side or mission from the highest bidder. You are skilled at fighting and manipulation. You have a bounty that exceeds most of ours." Robin said, nonalchalantly. " there is a serious risk associated to believing what you say."

"You could have been paid to join us and then double-crossed us! I mean you would do it if the price is right, right?" Usopp suggested.

"Or may be sabotage us." Zoro added.

"She may even be working with the marines and turn us over to them, since she can be bought for a price and the Marines seem to have suddenly lost her!" Franky said. " she is not a part of a crew, and she can easily be coerced by money so that could be a possibility! "

All these assumptions were truly pissing me off..."Stop assuming that I am Ashley! You don't have conclusive evidence!" I shouted, loosing my calm and control, not yet realizing that I was in no position to be bargaining.

My lashing out had had a lot of negative impacts- for me. Zoro's sword was out and pointed at me, even though there was a eight foot gap between the blade and me, I was not feeling confident at all. Robin's hands were already crossed in front of her, and her extra hands were already holding tightly to my legs. Brook's sword was out too, and Sanji had jumped in front of Nami, who had Usopp's weapon clutched in her hand. Usopp himself was ready with his catapult and its projectiles. Chopper had grown into his bigger form. Franky was already a weapon. Luffy was the only person who had been unaffected by my lashout.

"Your face is evidence enough." Robin said quietly, her hands still not leaving her chest.

"Besides, its not just anyone who can know so much about us." Nami muttered.

I needed a miracle to get out of this mess... And its not like I can deny their accusations, I would have drawn the same conclusions if I were in their place. I only wanted to help them, but they were making it extremely difficult. I needed to prove to them that I was not what I looked like. But how? My lie about a nonexistent Devil Fruit ability was not going to help-

Wait, wasn't Ashley a Devil Fruit user too?

That was my ticket out of this mess!

"OK, I admit that I too would have made the same conclusion if I was in your place." I announced, holding my hands up in surrender. "So you all are sure that I am Ashley?"

"There really isn't any other conclusion to make." Nami replied, which was quickly seconded. I paused, preparing myself for taking the risk I had in mind.

"Then you believe that I am a Devil Fruit user too, right?" I asked.

"You should be." Zoro muttered.

"And you are also completely disregarding the previous profile I presented to you, right?" I paused. "I am not Tessa. I can't see the future. I am a bounty hunter."

There was an air of uncertainty to that.

"That may be your Devil Fruit ability. What you said about my past was uncannily accurate. Ussop also probably agrees with me." Nami muttered.

"Well, I just decided that I have to wipe the slate clean. So the truth is, I am not a Devil Fruit user." I exhaled slowly. "Since you are convinced that Ashley is a Devil Fruit user, please throw me into the sea." A few gasps and wide eyes were easily recognisable. "You should be betting that I drown, right?"

"If you're not a Devil Fruit user, then how do you know so much about us?" Nami wondered out aloud.

"I am still not convinced about that." Zoro said, not yet relaxing his stance.

"Am I supposed to tell you how the owner of one of your swords and your best friend fell off the steps and died befor-"

"I totally get what you said." Zoro cut in, glancing at Nami.

"About that, I am sure you won't believe me if I said I was with you when all this happened righr? I don't intend to tell you now." I brushed it aside. "Anyway, I assure you that I won't drown if you throw me into the sea. So please do it."

"You really want to do that?" Luffy asked, staring down at me, with an expression I couldn't fathom.

"Yep. And thanks for being on my side." I smiled at him. Robin's hands flexed at my ankles and I felt a sudden pang of regreat at my decision...

"You don't look very enthusiastic about this." Robin noted.

"Its more about the monsters in these waters than the sea, really." I answered truthfully. I was not gonna lie again to them, it made things worse. One of Robin's hands disappeared, but before I could expect anything the other had already pushed me off the edge of the ship. I naturally aligned myself for a dive with practiced ease, but a sudden grab to my ankle and the jerk completely threw me off. I looked up, and saw one of Robin's hand holding me...

"We haven't killed anyone yet. We intended to keep it that way."

"I told you not to worry, right? I am absolutely good! But I don't quiet like hanging by an ankle 5 feet above the sea-" abruptly, the hand was gone and I landed into the sea. I was already on the surface within five seconds, and swam freestyle toward the emergency ladder by the deck. I held on to it with one hand before submerging my face into the sea. After all, I was here in the land of my dreams and how can I not look into one of my most beloved spots- into the sea?

I had never seen corals this huge or colourful. Some of coral cages moved with considerable speed, trapping a fish or two- carnivorous corals... How could that even be possible? Serpents with three heads and mythical fishes were mesmerizing. Something touched me lightly... Semi transparent, tentacles following the bell which had something that looked like a transparant flower inside it... Why did it look so familier?

Wait, wasn't that a box jellyfish?!

I yanked myself out of the water, but couldn't avoid the tentacles. I clambered up the ladder in top speed and collapsed onto the deck. Immediately I clutched my legs, my brain already convincing me that I was in pain... But there was not a single burn mark- not one mark of the harpoons injecting death...

"Why..." I whispered shakily as the crew surrounded me..

"What happened?" Chopped asked, concerned. "You looked like an exemplary swimmer until you suddenly bolted from the sea."

"She is defiantly not a devil fruit user." Franky said, as he walked towards me.

"Its obvious." Sanji seconded. "She wasn't just swimming... She was enjoying it."

"Chopper... What does the sting of a box jellyfish result in?" I asked, my voice still shaky. I had seen so many pictures and listened to so many horror storied about this...

"You sound like you got stung." Chopper commented

"Yeah, I did. Isn't that dangerous?" I exhaled staring at him. Why wasn't he doing something about it. He just smiled, which really threw me off.

Chopper was keeping his distance, but I could see that he was observing my leg intently while he made the comments. "Box jellyfish are the least dangerous kind of jellyfish around these areas. A sting would mean absolutely nothing... After all, they feed on plankton and don't need their stings for anything other than self defence. Its a bit irritating, but nothing serious. It'll wear off in an hour."

"Huh?!" No, that was not the jellyfish I had heard and read so much about. That was death floating around delivering bad luck to people!

"It would have been really bad if you had been bitten by a moon jelly or something." Wow, that was topsy turvy...

"So did you somehow convince the marines that you were a Devil Fruit user so that you could escape from sticky situations?" Zoro said, his sword still out and his stance still not relaxed. "Robin warned us that you were an ace at manipulation."

"Nooo..." I moaned, at my wits ends. "How can I prove to you that I am not Ashley?"

"Otherwise, how does she know so much about us if she was just a hitchhiker?" Brook muttered. "Only you guys knew about our whale."

"Can you not hear me...?" I tapered off, as other suggestions too were voiced into the background. The background music was getting louder as the the voices faded in my head -

Music? No, a ringtone... But the signal...

My hand darted to my pocket, but immediately a lot of weapons surfaced and an unfriendly atmosphere clouded thick enough to be cut with a knife. I sighed, but didn't withdraw my hand. "Its just a communication device. Now I can prove that I am not Ashley. May I please answer? Its like a Den-Den Mushi. I can't hurt anyone with it." I sunk my hand into my pocket and withdrew the device slowly and carefully. "I'll make sure all of you can hear whatever is being said, OK?" They were still on the edge but I saw a few halfhearted nods which were out of sync among the crew. I saw four bars and the familiar number and face staring at me, I let out an exhale, relieved. Finally I had found a witness!

I dragged the icon of the phone to the right before switching the device to speakerphone. "Hey, Lisanna." I smiled in my voice, but only heard an angry huff.

 _"Tessa! How dare you not take me with you?! Why are you enjoying by your self in the Grand Line?!"_ She knew?!

"How do you know where I am? And how did you call me in a place where there is no signal?"

 _"Ashley's the one who is making our communication possible right now, using her Devil Fruit ability. She is probably the reason you ended up there! Just for a confirmation, did you find yourself at the human shop?"_ A jolt went through the Strawhat crew, to my satisfaction. _"You probably don't know Ashley yet, right?"_

"I know her all too well... Even though the only things I know about her came from a marine wanted file, everyone is already after my head..." I confided to her. I heard Ashley mechanical voice sigh.

 _"I lost the bet. So what Ashley said came true after all."_ Everyone was now listening intently at the conversation. It was already clear that Tessa and Ashley were two different people. I could already guess where Ashley's hypothesis had come from.

But still, for the sake of hearing it from someone and letting the Strawhats hear the proof I still asked. "Ashley told you that I would be in trouble?"

 _"Yep. She said that you wouldn't make it through even an hour, unless you found help. After all, you wear her face- the face of a pirate who is worth 200 million."_

 **Done! See you next time! And feedback is always welcome!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi! irregular updated aside, here is chapter 7! I am really grateful for the favourites and follows. It makes me feel fuzzy and warm inside! I am always open to suggestions, so feel free to message me! So enough of my ramble and lets continue!**

"So, let me get this straight," Zoro muttered, scratching his head with the hilt of his sword. "there are two worlds where the same people exist and we are talking from one world to another. And Tessa and Ashley have changed places." his sword slipped back into his sheath. "this is a pain..."

"A book?" Nami exclaimed, accusingly. "Some guy's whims and fancies are what we are struggling through?"

"Seems like we are pretty popular in your world!" Chopper smiled in ecstasy, cheeks rosy.

" _ohh…_ _this is so amazing!"_ Lizzie's voice radiated with happiness.. _"_ _I never imagined I'd get to speak to the Strawhats! Do you have any idea how jealous I feel and how lucky you are?"_ a third person sighed in the background…. Which was probably Ashley, who was probably tired of Lizzie talking about the pirates.

"Yep, I do." I snickered. I was enjoying this… her frustration was giving me quiet a fuzzy feeling… "But you really did save me from the hot soup. Thanks. And you don't know how bad it feels to be a bounty head." I smiled, even though she wouldn't see it.

" _I like the Strawhats regardless if they are bounty heads or not!"_ Lizzie exclaimed _"Its not like you get to be a bounty head every day. Enjoy it while it lasts!"_

"I like excitement, but when the Strawhats were accusing me of betraying them and were treating me like an enemy, it really hurt, psychologically." I muttered, the smile gone. There was silence on the other end of the line too.

" _That must have felt horrible."_ Lizzie muttered back. I didn't want to look at the Strawhats, so I kept staring at the phone. I didn't know if they had understood what was meant by that conversation, but I didn't feel like meeting their eyes.

A long moment later Luffy's head suddenly obstructed my view, as his head kept bobbing in front of my face, probably observing my mobile phone. "Isn't this the same thing on which you were trying to get all the numbers stuck in 2014 corners?" I laughed, internally. Lizzie 'huh'ed from the other end. Of course, for the rest of the Strawhats this was a first time seeing my mobile phone.

"he's just referring to the 2014 game I was playing..." I filled Lizzie in, who chuckled.

"I thought this was a communication device?" Robin asked, paying closer attention to the device in my hand.

"It is." I replied. "technology is pretty advanced in our world, so something so small and light can have thousands of functions. One of its functions is to call people."

"I'd like to see the ships from your world." Franky talked to my phone.

" _Franky! This is Franky!_ Lizzie exclaimed, euphorically. _"sorry, but I am not much into ships… but they are really different from Sunny… much larger, defiantly. And sophisticated too. But now, most of the valuable goods are transported using aeroplanes."_

"vehicles that fly?!" Nami exclaimed. "how do they do that?"

" _this is heaven! Talking to Nami!"_ Lizzie exclaimed, again. _"sorry, I don't know the mechanism behind flights- I am focusing on biology, at the moment."_ she said, sheepishly.

"Has she never seen a pirate or something?" Zoro commented, sitting cross-legged on a bit of dry wood on the wrecked marine ship deck.

" _Actually, Zoro, there are not many pirates in our world."_ Lizzie answered, obviously smiling ear to ear, by the sound of her voice. _"Its not a very healthy source of income, and due to the high security, most pirate_ _s_ _can't survive by doing that job. And I have never seen a pirate, not even a bad one."_

"No pirates!" Luffy exclaimed, scowling. "That must be a dull world."

" _That was Luffy, right?"_ Lizzie exclaimed. _"Thinking about that, Tessa, can you even imagine Luffy's counterpart working a desk job here?"_ She commented, giggling. _"Even Zoro, Sanji, Brook- no, the real Brook must have already died…. Or did he? This is so confusing!"_ Thinking of Luffy sitting on a desk, pondering through paperwork, and trying not to get sacked was defiantly hilarious. But something else was prodding my head….

Lizzie had still not revealed Ashley's ability, even through her story of what happened. It made me curious, but I knew she had done it due to a reason, which was probably Ashley. Still I pressed in, hoping to get at least _something_ out of her. "Just curious, but is there something wrong with Ashley's abilities?" I asked, hoping Ashley was listening in. "'cause I still don't get why she is depending on you. And if she were in control, why was I warped here?"

The voice that answered me was mine. But that voice was much colder, and talked to me as if we were strangers. Which we were, even though we were technically the same being. " _just so you know, don't go about_ _spilling valuable information. You are right, my abilities are a bit out of sorts at the moment, but don't ask me specific questions. Such as what my ability is. And don't say anything if you have a hypothesis on what my ability is."_ so I was correct… I would probably get to know what her ability was eventually, so I decided to change the subject.

"What about school?" I exclaimed, concerned. I was not a student who easily missed classes, and a week of absence at such short notice would raise a lot of questions. Not to mention convincing my mother… oh, even that… "and what about the bed missing in my room? My mom-"

" _Your mom still doesn't know… we managed to keep her out of the room until now… that won't last long, though. And about school, Ashley is refusing to go in your place, saying she wants nothing to do with you. Cliché."_

"Ashley..." I implored. "I am willing to pay for your services, so please take my place and do everything I do as long as you stay there!"

" _How much?"_ My voice cut in. It was a bit unsettling, the way me from this world sounded. But then I knew she was used to this sort of thing, taking jobs for a price.

"Actually, I don't have any money on me, and even if I did it would be dollars-"

" _Then we are done negotiating."_

"Wait! I mean to say that I will pay for your service with service!" I replied, a bit flustered.

" _Specify."_ Wow, her language was not of the style I had heard on One Piece… this was totally business.

"How about I prove to the marines that you are not a Devil Fruit user? That will defiantly help you sometime, right?" I suggested. I had not thought about how to do this, but I didn't really have any other thing I could offer…

" _...Deal."_ the answer had come a long moment later. I let out a sigh of relief, as Lizzie's voice spoke through a sudden burst of static.

" _Tessa, Ashley's on her limit. I'll call you whenever I can. Do you have anything else do in this world?"_

"I need to submit the project I prepared on global warming tomorrow in the bio class. It is sitting on the desk in my room. Tell Ashley to read it before submitting it."

" _I'll give you your power-bank, keep your mobile charged. And I'll send you emails regarding your classwork and homework, so stay updated. Ashley can fool people into believing that she is you perfectly, so don't worry about anything else, OK?_

"Thanks." the line went dead almost immediately, and the signal returned to being no bars.

I may have solved one problem, but this also meant that the Strawhats had no reason to keep me. Now that the future had changed, I had no idea what was going to happen. Added to that, I had no fighting skills, and they were walking right into a fight for their lives… I would end up as dead weight. But I was feeling selfish. I wanted to stay on their ship, with the Strawhats for a little longer, even if it was a burden to them….

"So, I know that you guys have lost all the reason to let me tag along… And I can't really argue if you decided to leave me." I announced, facing them. Taking the lead was important now. "so you can either leave me or let me come with you. Personally, I would like you to take the second option..." I chuckled nervously "of course I know that I have no money, no cloths, no skills and no reason to stay… But I still know some useful things!" Threatening them may be a bad option, but I was desperate enough to do it…. "I know all the people who are going to betray you, I know all the people who will help you, I know the doctor that saved Luffy from the poisoning, I know where the keys are to Ace's sea-stone cuffs..." I paused, and sucked a breath in, before continuing "I know your enemy's strengths and weaknesses and a lot of other things too! Of course, if you leave me, I may take refuge in another pirate ship- I mean I know a lot of pirates- and I know _your_ strengths and weaknesses..." I sighed, tapering off.

"She's desperate." Sanji muttered.

"For once I agree with you, moss head." Zoro seconded, glancing at me, discomfort evident.

"Yeah, desperate enough to _threaten_ us." Nami muttered back.

"So there was no choice to begin with." Robin added, glaring at me. I gave her my most innocent smile in return.

"So, do you want to keep me?" I asked innocently... I wanted to hear it from them.

"You want to leave?" Luffy asked, wide-eyed. Nami scowled.

"Can you not take a hint?" she hissed at him.

"You know the answer." Brook told her. She sighed and nodded.

"Luffy, we can't afford to loose her. She still has a lot of information for us..." the rest of the sentence was hushed. "...and against us."

"So, I am staying, right?" I rephrased, eager to hear it from them.

"You want to make us say it." Zoro hissed at me, anger dripping in his voice.

"Of course!" I exclaimed. "You guys are my favourite pirates, after all."

"Yeah, you're staying." Luffy butt in, extending a hand. I caught it gladly, a tad too fast. "Welcome to the Straw Hat pirates!"

"Thank you!" I acknowledged happily, smiling ear to ear and pretending to ignore the scowls of the rest of the pirates.

"He defiantly doesn't get it." Franky sighed.

"I think we are inviting trouble into the group." Usopp muttered, shaking his head.

"Except Luffy, I think everyone agrees." Brook replied.

OK, I had become an antagonist again, but for now, I was safe. I could prove, with my actions, that I did not intend them any harm, and that they could trust me.

And eventually they will trust me, I was sure.

 **Done! R &R please!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi, guys!**

 **Your favourites and follows mean the world to me... Thanks a ton! Life, school, projects and exams got in the way of updates, and as I already told you, updates** _ **will not**_ **be regular.**

 **Enjoy chapter 8!**

 _Tessa's room_

"Ashley... You're going to a school, not a warzone." Lizzie said, a tinge of annoyance in her voice. Most of her comments had lost thier momentum, or had died. And that was just about 15 hours since her best friend had been replaced with a sociopath.

"No matter what it is, it's a place full of strangers." 'Tessa' replied, expertly slipping knives into different parts of her person. "And these cloths don't have enough pockets." She added, as an afterthought.

"That's 'cause Tessa wasn't a walking weapons shop." Lizzie sighed, too tired to argue. Pulling an all nighter by sneaking into Tessa's room, getting the raven to read a few days worth of lessons, teaching her about thier acquaintances, and the rules of earth while swallowing all the arguments and remarks was harder than reading braille for the first time. "And I told you, leave the knives out. You shouldn't bring it to school. It'll just be more work for me-" she yawned, covering her mouth.

"Don't kid me. I am not staying defenceless even if we are going to a nursery." Ashley slipped a knife up her sleeve...

"How do you keep them from cutting you or falling out?" Lizzie wondered out aloud, despite her eyes closing with sleep. Ashley stared at her for a long second before sighing and answering.

"I am wearing holsters under these cloths. I can hide around forty knives in it. I am dependant on my pockets for the rest." She said, not very happy about answering. Lizzie glared at her, seriously annoyed.

"Hey, I get that you are new to this place and paradise was a harder place to live than this, but I am not jeopardizing my friend's lives!" She hissed. "You and those knives are a really bad news!"

Ashley simply shrugged. "Well, too bad it's your problem." She picked up the report on global warming and slipped it into Tessa's spare bag along with the other study materials and books. Lizzie glared at her, debating for the fiftieth time, whether she should stop supporting this person. But Lizzie knew that, based on Ashley's comments and behaviour, if Lizzie was of no use to Ashley, she was at a huge disadvantage. Plus, she needed to ensure when Tessa was back, she was not stuck in the aftermath of all the trouble Ashley may cause. Lizzie settled for a glare, virtually burning Ashley's back, as she obliviously packed Tessa's bag... But stopped mid way.

"Glaring ain't solvin' nothin'." She mused, not even bothering to look at Lizzie.

"What's with that change in dialect? And how did you know I was glaring at you?"

"I don't think I want to tell you that yet." She replied, deciding that she had had enough entertainment. Too bad that Lizzie already knew about observation haki.

As the footsteps climbed the steps to the room, Ashley jumped through the window, landing infront of the kitchen window, forcing Lizzie to follow. The raven leaned into the window, cupping her hands infront of her mouth.

"Mom! We're leaving! My phone is still charging, so call Lizzie is you have to!" As the steps hurried to the kitchen, both of them jogged away. Mrs May leaned out of the window, her voice trying to chase thier tails.

"Hey, you didn't open the door to the bedroom!" She called after her daughter, but both the girls were already out of earshot. At least that's what they wanted her to believe.

"This ain't flyin' for long. Do something to get the bed back." Lizzie commented, slowing down to a walk.

"If I could have done that, I would have left this place already." The raven muttered back, matching her pace with the blond. The next ten minutes were uncomfortably silent- at least for Lizzie.

Her friend, at least by face, was right beside her, but the moment she opened her mouth, it shattered her imagery. Lizzie was not at all good with strangers, not at all a people person. But here she was, stuck guiding a complete stranger through life in America. Everything from 'the cars should go from the right of the road.' to 'knifing people is not the way to go about stuff.' and this girl was difficult. Difficult enough to put a troubled teen to shame. Ashley's world was way too different- Lizzie understood that she could not just reset herself. Her ability was pretty handy, but she couldn't use it for anything bigger than retrieving books from the shelf without getting up, or for knife handling. She knew that, like Robin, Ashley had become a bounty-head young, and it had happened out of desperation. But otherwise, she hardly knew anything. Ashley's walls were very high, and hard to take down. The slightest noises or disterbances would make her draw her weapons. During practice last night, she had found that the raven was incredible with information. She absorbed it flawlessly, and used it with uncanny pricision. If this girl knew enough, Tessa would suddenly come to life. What Lizzie was now worried about was the raven's unpredictability- her reaction to stimulus.

There was no point thinking about that. She had tried hammering out the heightened sense of danger from the Devil Fruit user, but its not like instinct could be taken out of anyone, especially when bad experiences were it's routes.

"You remember the names, faces, and personalities, right?" The blond confirmed, for probably the twentieth time.

"Yes, mom." The raven replied, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Don't worry."

"Don't try to over-think people's actions, please. They are not spies or marines or whatever. And please don't go knives blazing on anyone." Her voice was laced with a mixture of a command and a plea. Lizzie didn't even realise it, but her stress levels had climbed high enough to drive the sleep out of her system. The raven didn't answer, walking a few steps behind the blond- she let her lead they way, but also kept a constant eye on her. Lizzie was getting a bit apprehensive about letting her walk behind, but she decided to go by the idea that the raven's reasoning controlled her, and right now rational thinking didn't support backstabbing her.

They walked to school in silence. As they closed the distance between themselves and the gate, the number of people who recognised them grew. Ashley hand, twitching inconspically as it hovered over her pocket was being tightly gripped by Lizzie, constantly reminding her that the knife was out of bounds. But a metre into the school building, something invaded the raven's personal space abruptly as Lizzie slapped herself invardly. She had completely forgotten about this...

"Tessa!" A male voice exclaimed, the slightest hint of strain in his voice. Ashley's hand jerked violently into her pocket, gripping the knife. But Lizzie's hold prevented her from pulling that hand out, leaving her feeling extremely uncomfortable, vulnerable, and irritated as the male crashed against her, hugging her hard. Reasons flowed through her brain, which was trying to argue the reason that her body was denying- this guy wasn't hugging Ashley, but Tessa. She cringed and held still, as she observed him and his mates, who were with him. Some were simply staring while the others were whispering to one another, shaking thier heads. Needless to say, she didn't hug him back.

"Ya though about what I told ya yesterday?" He exclaimed, over-enthusiastically. She slipped out of his arms, straightening up before answering.

"Nope, Micheal." She replied, apathy barely hidden.

"Then how about lunch together after school?" He compromised.

"Sorry, got stuff to do." She mused, not even pretending to consider the offer. "No hard feelings." She added as an after thought, brushing the guy away. She turned back towards the school, a hand on Lizzie's lower back forcing her to lead the way. But Lizzie was a bit too shocked to respond, stubbornly standing in her way. Ashley 'tsk'ed, as Micheal's hand warped around her wrist, which she made a concious effort to not retaliate.

"How about ya help me with math?" He asked hopefully, his blue eyes capturing her brown ones in a silent effort to get her to agree. But Ashley was not at all in a mood to test her limits.

"We all know that your math is nothing to laugh about." She shot back, making Lizzie gaze back at her with contained amazement as she tried to keep her face neutral. " Now please, excuse me." She firmly planted her hand on Lizzie's shoulder, silently urging the blond out of the situation. Lizzie got the message and both made thier way into the school building.

As soon as they entered the near deserted halls of the school, Lizzie twirled around, staring at her best friend's look-alike. "How in the world did you do that?!" Lizzie hissed, glaring at the raven.

"Do what?" She hissed back, unconcerned.

"I know I made a terrible mistake of missing that guy completely! Tessa and I saw him more as a nuisance, not really worth thinking about." Lizzie's voice a few octaves lower than usual.

" His ID read Micheal Jones, his friends were going through his answer sheets which had a perfect score on them." The raven replied, starting to walk again. But Lizzie grabbed her again.

"I figured that out. But what about Tessa's behaviour? How did you know what to say?" The blond asked, frown lines showing. She was honestly astonished with the raven's observation skills. But what really made chills run up her spine was the way the raven had replied. Somehow Ashley knew exactly what Tessa would have said- everything from expression to tone.

"His way of talking was strained, suggesting previous bad experience. And his friends looked pretty resigned, suggesting that they knew it was futile talking to me." She replied. "Conclusion- Mavis was not at all interested, and was trying to avoid him." She paused. "And also the very fact that you missed telling me about him means that he was not important to Tessa or you."

She planted her hands on the blond's shoulder, flipping her to face the passage. "So which way is the chemistry class?"

Lizzie let herself relax, letting out a soundless chuckle. She had nothing to worry about- at least with regards to Ashley's ability to improvise and fool people. Making through an entire week without being caught suddenly seemed more possible. But just like Lisanna herself, there were a couple of people that Tessa was really close to. People with whom improvisation would not fly for long. But for now, they were safe.

Things went unnervingly well during classes. It had only taken that one call for Ashley to asses Tessa's character. Frankly, that scared Lizzie. If this had been a professional operation where Ashley was to infiltrate Tessa's place and had been given needed details from the start, Lizzie would probably never realise an imposter right under her nose. Coupled with Ashley's skills with weapons, in was frightening.

Period 4 was where things got tricky. Ashley was still diligently following the precaution of making Lisanna walk ahead of her. The blond was getting tired of that...

"Hey, do you really think I am going to shoot you or something?" She asked honestly, not trying to meet her eyes as she concentrated on how to say what was comming.

"No, but someone else might." Came the reply, as cold and uncaring as always. The blond cringed.

"So am I your human shield? Are you serious?" She hissed, very much uncomfortable with that thought. She knew no one in school would do anything, but the thought of being expendable was not sitting well with her... "Well, what I want to say is that you can't follow me for the next period."

The raven's hand warped around her wrist, stopping her. "Why?"

" 'Cause I have economics, and you have a free class right now. Which means you can sit tight somewhere for forty-five minutes and not attract attention, or join the people at the school activity clubs." Lizzie replied, turning around.

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" The raven hissed, her hand squeezing her wrist in a silent warning.

Lizzie sighed, " that is not the point. You are more than capable of interacting with people. I told you about Caroline, right?"

"Another of Tessa's close friends."

"She doesn't have a class now either." She informed the raven, her voice low. "Stay away from her. She knows too much about you. If she finds you, talk about today, or keep things general. Don't try to deduce anything about her, she won't be fooled." She paused. "Personally I would like to tell her about you-"

"No." Her wrist was painfully constricted, even though to all the eyes around there was no venom in the voice. "That is not happening."

"I said that because nothing escapes her." Lizzie forced out, wincing slightly while trying to slip her wrist out of the raven's hand. "She either finds out for herself, or you tell her. Pick your pick." Lizzie had started squirming as Ashley let her wrist go, letting the blond wave her a hurried 'see you' before jogging further down the hallway.

Ashley had gotten a detailed tour of the school during the last snack break. She knew the whole school now, but didn't know the location of people she was supposed to avoid. She wandered the corridors, exploring the building before making her way to the gardens. She was a bit squeamish about Lisanna not being by her side, but this was supposed to happen sooner or later.

The atmosphere in the garden was pristine, she could smell every wildflower and no pollution, the air was cleaner than anywhere she had seen since coming to this place, and the overall coolness and quietness gave a sense of security and peace-

"I knew I could find you here." A feminine voice broke through the silence, accompanied by the mild rustle of of bushes. She turned to see a redhead, with mild blue eyes, blue jeans, with a monochrome red T-Shirt walk in, her hands burried in the depths of her pockets. She smiled at the raven, who returned it. She knew this person from Lizzie's lecture. And this was the person she had been told to avoid...

"Hey, Caroline." She greeted back as the girl made her way through the garden to sit beside the raven who was starting to get increasingly uncomfortable. " I could never get tired of this place." She said honestly, meeting Caroline's eyes.

"Yeah... Who really could?" Caroline mused back, gazing at the skies, goosebumps showing as the cool air played pins and needles on her exposed skin. "It's chilly. Winter is comming." She added.

"Yeah... It's earlier than normal, right?" The raven commented, referring to Lizzie's lessons on climate and seasons. She rubbed her hands to her arms, emphasizing the cool of the temperature.

"I saw Mike bugging you." Caroline confessed, seeking the raven's eyes again. "I get that he comes in way too forcefully, but he is a pretty nice guy. Couldn't you guys sort this out instead of you breaking his heart every day?" Caroline said, gently touching 'Tessa's shoulder. "Work something out."

" It's not really his fault. It's just that I don't need relationships right now." The raven muttered back in a voice so low that even Caroline would have trouble hearing. "And him doing this every day isn't helping"

"Is there something wrong?" Caroline asked suddenly, settling down on one of the marble seats surrounding a traveller's palm. Ashley stared at her, debating among the countless lies on what to choose.

"Nothing." She decided to call on the most vauge but believable of them. Her hand was fingering one of her blades, but she didn't pull it out, knowing that the consequences would be bad.

"I noticed it in the morning too... You and Lizzie were really quiet." Caroline stared at the raven in the eye, daring her to escape from the question. Ashley could sense Caroline's probes in her expression, voice and her posture. Lisanna had already warned her that a conversation would not fly for long... But she was not ready to expose herself.

"I am not really in the mood to- Ah! Just forget it." She stopped short not revealing anything, but also not leaving the redhead without answers. This tactic had a flaw- it made people more interested, but she didn't really have any other way of stalling. Exploring the school had already eaten up a lot of time, but she could not check the remaining amount of time, not infront of this red-head.

"Ok... You don't have to tell me. You were pretty flustered for a few days...But you should know that I can always be the listener you need." She broke eye-contact, fingering a nearby rose flower. "It was downright wierd though, when I saw the two of you walk in complete silence, plus you seemed so stressed and she was always in front of you..." She trailed off, adding details that were unknowingly hitting bullseye after bullseye in the raven's head.

"Hey, you wanna go into the forest with me?" Caroline jumped up suddenly, a hand shooting out and grabbing Ashley's shoulder, as suffocating waves of paranoia hit the raven. Even though the red-head didn't know it, it was the worst time to surprise the raven. "I can show you t-" she stopped abruptly, staring at 'Tessa's hip. "Why do you have a knife?"

Ashley stared at the blade, which was half out of her pocket. The shock of Caroline's sudden action had probably engaged her reflexes...More importantly, she had no answer...

"Hey..." Caroline reached out but Ashley backed off hurriedly, clutching the blade which was now out. "Why do you have a weapon?" Caroline repeated her question as she walked towards the blade, regardless of the apparent threat.

"Stay back." Ashley warned, her voice a few octaves lower than normal. She knew things were getting out of hand, but muscle memory and survival instincts kicking her brain out of their way.

"You can't hurt me- you won't." Caroline continued, an honest smile fixed on her features as she advanced, which was compensated by the raven backing away. The raven's blade pointed at her, in a silent last warning.

"I-" but before she could complete her sentence the raven pounced, shoving the surprised girl hard enough to stun her. She fell back onto the marble seat, slamming her back to the traveller's palm. Ashley didn't give her a moment to recover, grabbing her by the arm and throwing her onto the grass, climbing on top of her. She stabbed the blade less than an inch from her throat, for good measure.

But before the raven could do any further damage, fast approaching footsteps invaded her space, the blond hair stuck to the girl's forehead and neck, revealing a fair amount of exersion.

"Ashley!" Lizzie exclaimed, happening upon the disastrous scene infront of her. Caroline lay on her back flat on the grass, seemingly not injured, but definately stunned and shocked to silence, with a knife embedded barely half an inch from her jugular, with 'Tessa' straddling her. Ashley didn't look like it, but Lizzie could see that Caroline had did, or said something that had pushed the raven to her ropes. Lizzie's warning had stopped Ashley, but she was not showing any signs of getting up or releasing the redhead girl under her.

"I warned you 'bout this." Lizzie glared at the raven, silently commanding her to get off her friend. The raven read the unsaid message, standing up and walking back towards the traveller's palm. Lizzie quickly knelt beside Caroline, who was simply staring at the skies in a silent review of what had just happened.

"I am really sorry... I should have known this was gonna happen." Lizzie apologized, rubbing Caroline's arm and brushing a bit of red hair off her face.

"Who the hell is that?" Caroline asked after a pregnant silence, accepting Lizzie's hand and pulling herself upright. Lizzie glanced at the raven, debating the answer.

"Ashley..." Lizzie raised her voice, knowing the raven was already listening in. "You blew your cover. Are you doing the honours, or do I have to?"

XxxxXxxxX

 **OK, done! Please Read and Review! Reviews are my drugs!**


	9. Chapter 9

**I am really sorry for the long delay... Important things have been going on in my life and school, and I was a bit too tied up with all that. I am still not very confident about the next chapter arriving in time either, but I will definatly try.**

 **So here goes chapter 9!**

I never remembered the heat in my room to be so harsh... And my pillow seemed to be missing... The grass was pretty soft...

 _Grass?!_

Oh... Right...

I opened my eyes, the sun glaring angrily at me... I squinted in response, pushing myself to my elbows, finding myself alone, with just Luffy. Where was everyone...?

"You sure sleep well in enemy territory." Zoro's head poked out from behind the tree I was resting at, shaking his head. "Whatever, we'll be going in deeper today, and try to find someone from the tribe."

"You are not the one doing that, hopefully." I muttered, as annoyance ticked in his temple. Scoffing briefly, I stood up, snatching up my bag from the ground. "Luffy, we need to get to the rest of the crew." I tried shaking a flimsy hand as the pirate captain stayed fast asleep.

"Don't worry, he'll be up and running as soon as breakfast's ready." Zoro waved me off, sauntering away. I should have known that. Nothing beats the smell of Sanji's food...

I visited a nearby pool to freshen up, clean myself as well as I could, before joining Chopper, who was the only one at the table.

"What exactly is there in that bag that it is so precious?" Chopped eyes at the bag hanging from my shoulder. "You never put it down."

"My collage books, my laptop, which is full of important school stuff, and my mobile, which is again precious." I rattled off, sitting down heavily by Chopper's side, infront of a makeshift breakfast table made of a fallen log. "I wonder what happened in class... And I forgot to tell Ashley to take notes..." I burried my hand into my bag, pulling out my biology text book. I probably won't get much time to catch up to my class, except times like these.

"Your study material?" Robin asked, sitting down opposite to me. I nodded silently, paying more attention to Genetics. As far as I was informed, this is what was going to happen during biology today...

I got around 20 minutes of silence, after which the mouthwatering smell of Sanji's breakfast invaded my nose, along with Luffy rushing to the table. I noticed that while I was studying Brook, Franky and Nami had joined at the table. Zoro came in last, after which Sanji came in carrying the hot meal to the table. I stuffed my book back just in time for the mess to start.

XxxxXxxxX

"May I see your stuff?" Robin held out a hand, eyeing at my bag. I gave it to her without a second thought.

"Just don't loose anything..." I added as an afterthought, looking at her as she rummaged through my stuff, opening all the books and checking the base of the bag. "If you're searching for my weapons, I don't have any." I smiled as she ignored me. "Our world is not that unfriendly. Only policemen carry weapons... And people who commit crimes. I am yet to see the latter. Except in the movies."

She handed the bag back to me, but held on to a few of my books, skimming through most of it, bit reading some of the parts.

"Ok, we're ready to set off." Nami announced, gathering our attention. All of us gathered around, except for Luffy, who was already by her side.

"If we meet any of the Kuja, we do not attack. Even if they do." Zoro reminded the crew.

"We earn their trust and then proceed from there." Robin finished, before glancing at me. "So you are the problem here." I blinked at her, confused.

"What?"

"We don't really have a story for how we know so much about them. We will have to tell them about you. What is your story?" She rephrased. She did have a point.

"In that case I go with my original story. I am a Devil Fruit user who ate the Mirai-Mirai no mi."

"Your face is too well known for that." Zoro reminded me, shaking his head.

"I mean, I will go with the story that I am Ashley, who ate that devil fruit. As far as the marines are concerned, they don't know my ability." I said, looking around, to see if there was any opposition to that. I caught it on Franky's face.

"Ashley is a fighter. A brilliant one at that. If anyone knows you, they'll assume that you're the biggest threat after Luffy." He said. Hmm...

"I'll see to it that I don't have to fight." I assured them, an outline of a plan forming in my mind.

"What do you plan on doing?" Sanji asked, not missing the hint of ideas on my face.

"Mind games." I replied, smirking. "I may not look it, but I am talented at that."

"How do you plan to go about that?" Brook asked, eye-less sockets staring at me. "Ask for thier panties?"

"I plan to use their history against them." I elaborated. "No offence, but this world is a treasury of sad stories with happy endings." I held a hand out to Robin, shooting glances at my maths book lying on the grass beside her.

"You're concepts and laws are way too different..." Robin commented, retuning it to me.

"Of course. According to the laws of our world, Devil Fruits are impossible, so you guys are impossible, and so are most of your adventures." I replied, dropping the book into my bag. " Science." I paused. "But I think that physics and chemistry bring the maths in the world out." I hung the bag onto my shoulder. "But most of the maths is quiet dead... Compared to that, I love the Game Theory." I looked up, suddenly remembering that I was getting carried away. "Sorry, I was ranting."

"Sorry, but this is inconsistent." Sanji spoke up, liting a cigarette. I turned to him. "If you are as scientific as you seem to be, our story would seem quiet outrageous."

I smiled at him, having not expecting that question. "That's 'cause being logical all the time sucks. Do you calculate exactly the number of calories and match it to fitness and health system to calculate exactly how much nutrition each crew member needs?" I paused. "Beside it's fun! I am sure Oda sensei was thinking the same thing."

"Who's that?" Chopper asked.

"The guy who wrote One Piece." I replied, whipping my mobile out. No messages (obviously), charge - 34% I needed my power bank.

XxxxXxxxX

We had started walking around fifteen minutes ago, everyone on high alert for signs of people. Greenery like this was hard to come by back at home, and I enjoyed the smell of the forest and the sun. Life was abundant in the canopy and the ground alike, which was another refreshing aspect I missed at home. Many of the animals were... Well... 'impractical models' but by the rules of this world, they probably weren't. I hummed a tune to myself, breathing in everything this place had to offer as I took a generous amount of photos for memory. I even managed coersce the Strawhats into posing for a group photo... Lizzie was gonna be oh so jealous..

"What is the Game Theory?" Robin asked, a slight tap drawing my attention. I glanced at her, trying to formulate the answer.

"Well, I don't remember the name of the guy who did it but, it the study of mathematical models of conflict and cooperation between intelligent rational decision-makers." I paused quoting from Wikipedia, realising that this would probably be a lot easier if I took an example.

"A practical example would be the Prisoner's Dilemma." I met eyes with her. "Suppose both of us were arrested for doing a...a mugging. But the police know that we were also involved a more serious crime, but don't have the proof." I took a breath before continuing. "So the police separate us; we have no way of contacting each other. Then they give both of us a series of choices." I raised a finger. "One, if you rat me out, you go free, while I do jail time for the more serious crime- the heavier punishment." I raised a second finger. "Two, you stay silent and do the jail time for the minor crime with me." I let my hand drop. "If both of us rat each other out, we both do jail time for the serous crime, but get a smaller sentence for our cooperation. What do you do?"

At first she drew a breath, bit stopped midway. I cocked my head to the side, waiting.

"Shouldn't we just stay silent? That would be the least of a problem." Chopper said, sparing me a glance as he walked.

"The problem is that you don't know if I might betray you." I looked down at him. "If I betray you when you believe me, I walk away scot-free and you get the worst end of the deal. Here, betrayal is the best option."

"So you're saying that if I don't betray you I get punished, and if I trust you l get punished even worse..." Robin mused, thinking as she fingered her chin. "So people are more likely to betray each other under these circumstances, and that there is no such things as the best answer." I smiled at her.

"Correct. The Game Theory focusses on variables that may change thier own circumstances. The variables stand for real people. It is used widely in economics, marketing, exetera." I sighed. "Sorry if you didn't find it interesting."

"Your world is very different. And I kind of like the difference." Franky said. "Well, I really want to see the technology."

I had just remembered the shipyard port that we had visited a few weeks ago as an educational trip. I dug out my phone from my pocket, opening the gallary. I moved closer to Franky holding the mobile as high as I could to accomodate his towering figure to show him the pictures. He bent down to get a better look.

"Actually, just take the phone and swipe it to flip pictures. We went to a shipyard." I held the phone out to him.

He initially struggled with the concept of touchscreen and the sensitivity, but got around it. I saw his robotic face light up as he looked through them. I smiled at it and retuned to my position beside Robin.

"What all can that phone do?" Brook asked, missing flesh making the bones creak and click against each other... I was still only getting used to seeimg brook in real life... It was a bit surreal.

"When Franky is done I'll show you. It's a bit hard to explain without it." I said. "My father's a journalist, so his phone is his lifeline. In our world this little flat box is our castle." I said, slightly arranging myself to be closer to him as I spoke. I still couldn't get around talking to a person with no eye balls, even though it was an experiance.

"So what do pirates do in your world?" Luffy asked... This was a first...

"Honestly I don't know. I've never met one." I said, meeting his eyes. "But I know that they don't live a life similar to yours. It's not a very profitable livelihood." I said, remembering Captain Phillips. That had been a huge contrast.

"Luffy, if you were not a pirate, what do you think you want to do?" I asked, trying to guess what our world's Luffy would do...

"I would find One Piece." He replied, immediately. I kind of knew this answer...

"I meant- OK, I'll establish a few things." I asserted, hoping to get a proper answer. "There is no One Piece, Grand Line, or Devil Fruits. What would you want to be?"

"I'll make One Piece and then find it!" He said, flashing me a smile. Sanji patted my back, shaking his head slowly.

"You knew there is no point." He said, softly. "Are you trying to picture Luffy in your own world?"

"Yeah. I was hoping to have at least some idea, since I know now that these two worlds are inhabited by the same people, even though they are psychologically different." I sighed. "And he just replied that he would rather become Gol. D. Roger."

"You sure know a hell lot about our world." He commented, taking another wiff of the cigarette...

"Hey, I don't know what happens in your world..." I looked at him, blowing the small white film away from me. "But smoking causes cancer in our world." I gave him a look. "And it's one of the leading causes of death."

He looked a bit disappointed with the intel, but nodded, grabbing the cigarette, and pulling it out of his mouth. "Yeah... It's the same here." But before he could drop it I grabbed his hand.

"If you throw it on this grass, the whole forest will go up in flames." I paused, recalling the scenes in the anime. "Or maybe not, since science doesn't work the same here. But as a precaution, don't."

"Well drinking isn't the best habit either, but since nothing has happened to Nami and Zoro, I don't really know what to do." I commented, dropping my hand from Sanji's wrists. I was starting to doubt my knowledge- something I was proud of. This world didn't roll the same way and I was well aware of that. I was starting to feel insecure. Which was pretty wierd.

"Is that the mushroom I ate earlier?" Luffy exclaimed, but I grabbed his hand and Chopper held on to his leg.

"No, you are not doing that!" Chopper told him, steering him away from the poisonous mushroom... When arrow stabbed the ground centimeters away from Luffy's leg. As everyone jumped to safety Sanji held on to me (of course, I couldn't jump like them). And the ground sported a huge hole, with the arrow as the epicenter...

We all looked to the direction the arrow came from, on the trees. Another pair of arrows were already ready and aimed at us, and we narrowly managed to miss-

"Sweet pea, they split up!" Margaret's voice rang out...

"What kind of an arrow is that?!" Luffy shouted, shooting his hand out and grabbing it. "It looks like a twig but blows holes like that...!"

"You know what that is?" Franky looked at me, tossing me the phone which I managed to catch somehow.

"Arrows imbibed with Haki." I answered. "You don't want to get hit! Ever!" Another arrow flew flew past me and Sanji, blasting a hole in the tree we were on, forcing him to jump off again.

"MARGARET!" I shouted, trying to get a few words to them, buying all of us time. "Hey! Margate, stop shooting! You'll regret it!" I had managed to catch sight of her, the living version of her. It was almost like a cosplay, but I knew this was no game... "Sweet pea! Please, listen to us!"

Those two had stopped shooting, but were still very much on gaurd. Sanji placed me down. I waved at them, making sure they saw my hands.

"How do you know our names?" Margate shouted back, the arrow still aimed at us. I swallowed, nervousness taking its toll.

"We're sorry to scare you, but please, listen to us before you try to kill us! We really need to see the Snake Princess."

"Are all of these women from the village? Do you know us from before or something?" She asked, still the frown very much set on her face as if carved onto a stone. The Strawhats stared at me, noticing that all of them had been assumed to be women.

"Well, something like that... I know you people, but my friends here don't. Could you guide us to the village? We don't mean any trouble."

"We can't just take your word for it." Sweet pea said. "Intruders are to be eliminated. Not that people have never washed up on our shore... Though they are nearly always dead."

"If you know us, you know the Snake Queen doesn't tolerate intruders. " Margaret added. But I knew too much about them to give up now.

"I know the Queen is not currently on the island. She is answering the summones of the world government regarding her appearance during Portegas. D. Ace's execution. We need her help regarding that." I told them. I didn't know if they knew it, but they would find out anyway. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Zoro gagging Luffy with his hand... I shouldn't have brought up this topic.

After a brief silence, Margaret spoke up. "I don't know how you know so much about us, but that probably means that we really do know you." I decided to not answer that. "So we'll take you to the village... But don't be trouble." I sighed quietly, relieved. Sanji patted my back smiling. We jumped off the trees and back to the ground, keeping our distance from the two Amazon Lilly hunters.

We let the hunters lead us through the forest. I had set my phone to vibrate as a precaution. The rest of the Strawhats followed them in silence. Luffy was all too eager to get to his brother, which is what all this boiled down to. Robin commented on how she could believe they hadn't recognised me, and the fact that all of them were assumed to be women. Brook and Chopper, as a Plan B, were tailing us without showing themselves, ready to help us if things went south. It was better than explaining their appearance anyway.

So far, the things that were happening were new, and the old story had nothing to do with all this. Had I meddled enough to change things that should not have been changed? The line of thought was kind of scary. I didn't even know the full extent of the effect of my actions... Was this a good idea? But I was too far into this to do much about it anymore.

 **Done! Please R &R! I tresure your opinions, they encourage me to no end!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hi! Chapter 10 is done! Again, sorry about the wait... I had already warned about it. Sorry for the rambling; here goes chapter 10!**

"You sure this ain't some kind of bipolar disorder?" Caroline scratched her head, scanning the raven. She didn't really believe these two, but they didn't need to know that... "She does not look like a harmless anime character to me." She justified, looking back at Lizzie.

"No matter how bipolar Tessa gets, do you think she would harm you?" Lizzie reasoned, waving the knife in front of her. "Furthermore I checked. I managed to contact Tessa, and even talked to the strawhat pirates while I was at it!" Her voice got cheesy and dreamy half way through, making Caroline cringe.

Ashley stalked over to Lizzie, snatching her blade from her, slipping it back into her pocket.

"Whatever." Caroline waved it off, walking towards the walkways of the garden and back towards the main building. "You both are experts at planning elaborate pranks and executing them... And we have barely five minutes to get to the next class."

"But I have to say, this is interesting." Caroline mused, as they hurried to the biology lesson for the day. "Unless, of course, you both are in on this. Otherwise this is a really bad joke." Caroline warned, just before they peeked into the class, and to their surprise, the teacher wasn't there yet.

"Guess we are lucky." Lizzie said, sneaking into the class full of people engrossed in their work, the other two following.

As Ashley had said, nothing went wrong. Except the incident with Caroline, not another person guessed anything was amiss. By the end of the school day Ashley and Lizzie were walking side by side, with Caroline was a step ahead. But back at home there was again the bed issue...

"Hey, can you do something about the bed? 'cause seriously, it's a miracle that we are still hiding it from Tessa's mother." Lizzie sighed, the adrenaline of a day of stress wearing off, reminding her how sleepy she was...

"What's wrong with the bed?" Caroline asked, glancing at Lizzie. "And you suddenly look as if you didn't sleep last night." She added, staring at the yawn behind her hand.

"When these guys switched places, Tessa's bed opted to go and get stuck in the One Piece world with Tessa." Lizzie's voice was a bit distorted, as she came off the yawn. "And I was busy teaching Ashley the ways of this world all night long."

"The bed is gone?!" Caroline exclaimed. "And her mom didn't find out?"

"We kept her locked out." Lizzie muttered, the volume of her voice going down steadily and gradually. Caroline let out a sigh, exparated.

"I guess this is no prank after all." She commented, staring ahead. "Tessa's mom will still be in the hospital, but she will come back within two hours." She added. "Both your parents work in the same hospital, right?"

"I think I have just enough energy to do that, but then my stay increases by two days." Ashley said, looking at Lizzie.

"Not like we can do an entire week without it." She sighed. "Yeah, pull it through." By then, they had gotten to Tessa's. Lizzie dug the spare key out from under a flower pot, unlocking the house. But turned to find Ashley gone.

"She climbed up a tree and went directly to Tessa's room." Caroline said, jerking her thumb upwards.

"Right. Stupid me." She patted her own head. But still she went in to the house, and went up to Tessa's room with Caroline, which was now open. She saw 'Tessa' in the middle of pulling out the knives out of her sleeves, the metel clattering on themselves on the carpeted floor. Caroline's eyes widened.

"Why do you need so many knives?" Caroline muttered, keeping her distance, even though Lizzie just went in and settled down on the carpet. They both had avoided the large rectangular area where the bed was supposed to be. Ashley stared at her, mock seriousness on her face.

"That is because I like breathing. I live for it." She answered. A small smile grew on Caroline's lips.

"This world is not really infested with 'Tessa opposers' to the point of being careful even at home." She said, coming into the room, and sitting down on a chair near the study table, facing the other two occupants of the room.

Ashley breathed in and out, as if trying to calm herself down. Then she suddenly reached out, her arm disappearing into the air. Her muscles tensed as she got hold of what she wanted, pulling the giant piece of furniture out of thin air, the bed's muffled thump making the other two girls jump.

Caroline stared at the bed in shock and amazement, reaching out and touching it, as if checking that it was real. Lizzie stared at Ashley. She had seen her ability in action, but had never witnessed the raven pull out something so big out of nothing.

"You told me that you can pull things through space... So is it this easy to smuggle yourself wherever you want?" She asked.

Ashley shrugged. "I generally don't jump dimensions, but yeah... I can get into Impel Down of I want to. But of course, I can't if I have never seen its insides."

"I can see why people would want you..." Lizzie mused, staring at nothing in particular. That's when she noticed how red Ashley's face looked. "Are you OK?" She tried to reach out but Ashley slapped her hand away out of pure reflex. But the touch was enough.

"You're burning!" Lizzie exclaimed, trying to reach out again, but was not allowed to. "You've got a really bad fever!"

"It'll subside in some time!" Ashley insisted, hostility burning in her eyes.

"Oh... So everytime you teleport something really big or too far, your body heats up." Lizzie deduced. "No wonder you were so warm when we met."

"So, as a biology student, you know what could happen if I overuse my ability, don't you?" Ashley hissed, glaring at Lizzie. Lizzie nodded, flagging the piece of information as 'important' in her mind.

"OK, with this I can rule out the possibility that you guys were pranking me." Caroline announced. "I was sure that you guys were pulling my leg."

"We don't do... things like this..." Lizzie sighed, dropping onto the bed. "I am so tired..." And almost immediately she was asleep, leaving Ashley with Caroline, both uncomfortable in each other's presence. The air was thick with discomfort, which was only amplified for the tem minutes of intense silence.

"So, how did you become a pirate?" Caroline tried to diffuse the tense atmosphere, but recieved nothing for an answer. "Hey, didn't you hear me?"

"Don't ask me anything, I won't either." She cut her, slipping the knives back into her person. "You don't want to know sensitive information.

"According to you, we are a world away from your enemies." Caroline pointed out. "What is the point of doing this?" She crossed her legs, resting her head on her elbow.

"Better safe than sorry." Ashley replied, picking herself up and settling down on the bed. "If you are done, them leave." Caroline looked pretty outraged at that, but calmed down at record speed, sighing softly.

"That is not the way to treat guests." But she stood up anyway, slowly walking to the door. She turned around at the last second, at the door. "Don't hurt Lizzie. She-"

"I don't destroy relations with benefactors." Ashley cut her again, though there was a hint of tiredness in her voice. Caroline observed the dark circles around 'Tessa's' eyes, and the jerky way she reacted to the slightest moves of the unconscious blond beside her, the way her eyes wandered around in a sense of insecurity despite being in the house... Caroline actually felt sorry for her.

"Is this the first time you stayed under the same roof so long? Or had someone who will trust you enough to fall asleep beside you?" Caroline asked, seeking the raven's eyes. "You can enjoy the time you spend here. Even if you think otherwise, the world is not as bad as you think it is." She left the raven alone, trudging down the steps and excusing herself from the house.

Ashley thought for quite a long time about those few sentences. It had been a long time since she had shared a roof with anyone. It had been even longer since she trusted such a person. She was tired of running down a road which never seemed to end. It had been such a long time since she was so relaxed. She knew she had taken somebody else's place, but still she never knew life could be ...so easy. This was not just business, like it had been for such a long time. She found herself liking this life...

The front door creaked as Tessa's mother walked in. She noticed the bags on the sofa, her gaze travelling up to the bedroom instantly. "Tessa? Is Lizzie there too?" The raven walked out of the room, leaning on the railing.

"Yeah, but she's sleeping." She flashed the woman a smile. "We had a long night dealing with trouble." Instantly, she registered the worry in her eyes.

"What happened?" Mrs May called back, dropping her portmanteau and briskly climbing up the steps. Ashley missed these pure emotions, it had been a long time since anyone had wanted her for who she was, and not for her abilities.

"She had an acquaintance over, who was not used to the customs and ways of America. We had to teach her everything from scratch." She said, not really willing to lie, like she always did. Her mother reached her side, and peeked into the door, finding Lizzie passed out on the bed, relief flooding her features.

"You had me worried for a moment there, luv." She sighed, walking past Ashley into her own room, and into the joined bathroom. Ashley made sure Mrs May couldn't see her before slipping silently but quickly into the front room, opening her portmanteau and checking its contents. By the white coat and the instruments and bottles, seems like this person was a doctor. Ashley knew that her own mother is- was a florist until about two years ago, so the worlds had nothing in common except the existence of the story in a book called One Piece, and the parellel world people. It had been a long time since she had seen her mother. She kind of missed her, but for her mother's safety, she couldn't meet her. Even if this was Tessa's mother and not her own, she felt just as comfortable as she did in her younger days, when she lived with her mother-

The music from Lizzie's pocket stabbed through her thoughts. She rolled Lizzie over (she was so out that she didn't even feel it) and dug out the flat box that Lizzie called 'mobile phone'. She followed her motions, touching the icon in the middle and dragging it to the right, on to the green icon, and put it to her ear.

"Hello?" She asked, tentatively.

" _Tessa? Ok, so Lizzie's at your house?_ " A woman's voice asked, a bit frantic- but it was fast becoming relieved. Ashley spoke into the phone like Lizzie did.

"Yeah she's here. But she was tired, so she dozzed off" she said, realising that this machine was actually working just like a den-den mushi. She wondered how this machine worked.

" _I see. I was a bit scared when she had not come back..."_ The voice justified, sounding very much relieved. " _Next time you do this, inform me, honey."_ She added, a smile apparent in her voice.

"Of course." Ashley smiled back, waiting for the other side to disconnect the call...

 _"Would you like to join us for dinner today, Tessa? The menu is a surprise!"_ Lizzie's mother continued, an excited tone to her voice emerging now. Ashley knew that it was rude to outright decline, but she needed more time to prepare herself for something like this...

"Sorry, but I have plans... Lizzie invited me too." She lied, apologizing. "I am really sorry." After a brief silence, the voice on the other end seemed a bit down...

" _Ok then, we'll have to postpone it. Just know that you're always welcome honey."_ Tessa smiled, even though she knew the person on the other end would never see it, just like Lizzie did while talking on the phone.

"Thanks. Bye." Lizzie's mom returned the farewell before disconnecting, after which Ashley dropped the phone beside Lizzie before walking back down to the front room...

"Are you hungry?" Mrs May asked as she stirred the pasta on the stove. "We have enough for all three of us. Would Lizzie like to eat?" She flashed a smile.

"She said her mother has prepared food for her." Ashley replied. "Mom." She added quickly. It had been quiet some time since she had used that word.

"How was your day?" Mrs may pulled on a pair of gloves before holding the pasta container, placing it in the table. Ashley quickly grabbed plates, spoons and forks, setting the table (just as she had been taught by Lizzie, and she knew Tessa would have done).

"It was fine... Wasn't my best day, but not the worst either." Ashley said, opening the fridge, trying to look busy. "We had a lesson in formation of a zygote... Fraternal and identical twins. I tried to bring chimeras up, and the teacher made it into extra-curricular. Quiet a shame." She paused, settling down with her mom. Or the person who looked like her mom. "In physics, ampere circutal law sure is handy... In the problems given by the teacher... I never figured out why we would need it anyway. I mean I get it if I was a resurcher or something along those lines, but I plan on pushing biology... So why do we have to study all these for so long?"

"Tessa, you already know the answer." Mrs May replied, smiling at her daughter. "How would you know you like something unless you try it? Unless you know the basics of all kinds of fields, you can take your pick from what you like and specialise." She paused to eat. " I didn't know that I wanted to be a doctor before I learned what were the other options. And it's not because some fields are easy and the others are not. You have to work hard to be successful." Her pep-talk reminded Ashley of her own mother, who used to do this all the time... "Ok, so what else?" She finished, shoving another fork-full of pasta into her mouth.

"Chemistry... was a bit boring... We did organic, and all those named reactions and mechanisms were making my head spin. But I don't really mind, I know I need chemistry to do biology..." She paused, eating a few spoonfuls of pasta. "We did another bit of To Kill A Mocking Bird... I really love that book. Makes a person aware of so many different views and answered to single questions... I could go on and on about it." Ashley sighed, not giving much thought to reporting the day informally, based on the phonecall to the person she was imitating.

"If I remember correctly, you had sports today right?" Mrs May continued, nonchalantly. Ashley let a small chuckle escape, eyeing at her mother.

"Do you have to ask?" She smiled. Mrs May stared at the plate, a small smile on her features.

"I guess not." She said simply, scraping the plate for the last bits of pasta. Ashley finished her food and picked up her plate along with Mrs May's, carrying it to the sink.

"We played throwball. It was a breeze." Ashley said simply, as she washed the dishes. "It was fun."

"That's great..." Mrs May smiled, as she walked briskly to the music from her phone. She talked to the phone, her voice getting serious quickly.

"Sorry, luv. Someone came in for a by-pass surgery. Take care of yourself while I'm gone, ok?" She rushed around as she said this, grabbing her essentials. She paused before the raven briefly, pulling a her into a hug. She pirate tried her best to not defend herself, even though she couldn't hold back a few jerks. She pressed a kiss onto her forehead before hurrying out. Ashley's instincts had been in total conflict those few seconds. She remembered the last time her mother had given her a goodbye kiss... She had never expected to get one again, especially since she knew she would be seeing this person again. Her emotions were all over the place, but she managed to maintain her 'Tessa' mask.

She waved quickly as she started up a vehicle, the kind Ashley had never seen. She returned the wave until Mrs Mat was out of sight, before returning to the house. She walked into the kitchen, instantly catching Lizzie... With a knife...

Lizzie heard the footsteps, twirling around. But as soon as she did, Ashley's hand shot out, one of the striking her inner wrist, and the other simultaneously striking the back of the palm of the hand holding the knife- forcing the knife out of Lizzie's hand and into the raven's. The action was sudden and fast, and she didn't even realise the knife was no longer in her hands. Lizzie stared at pirate and then at her hand, registering the missing knife. She sighed in dramatic defeat, ignoring the questioning looks Ashley was pelting her with.

"May I have my knife back? It's hard to cut bread without it." Lizzie held out a hand. But of course, that was not enough to make the raven hand the weapon back.

"Then where is the bread?" Ashley hissed back, tightening her hold on the blade.

"In the oven. I cut out a thick slice and kept the rest back in the fridge. We can cut it into more-"

"I don't eat food made by strangers." Ashley cut her, shortly. Lizzie shook her head, looking pretty pissed off.

"I am not giving any to you. You just had lunch." She said, shaking her extended palm forore emphasis. The raven did hand the blond the knife, but...

"Don't try anything, and you won't even know what killed you." Ashley warned, pressing the knife handle into Lizzie's hand.

"Yes I would, since nothing other than you is threatening me." The blond retorted, walking to the beeping metal box, taking out a thick slice of bread. She sliced it up, applied jam between the slices and consumed them, all in silence. After she was done eating, she picked up her bag from the sofa, staring to make her way out, but was stopped by the raven.

"What does Tessa call your mother?"

"Mrs Matson." She replied, cocking an eyebrow hinting a question.

"I have 'plans'. Tell her you invited me, and I am sorry, or something like that." The raven said, running a hand through her hair. "Only if she asks." Lizzie nodded, walking out of the house.

"I'll lend you one of the spare phones in my home. Use it to contact me or Caroline." She added, pausing. "You're lucky that it's the same model as Tessa's phone, but obviously the number is different. I'll teach you how to use a phone later."

Lizzie left after the small speech, pulling her bag over her shoulder along with her jacket. Ashley simply went back inside, using her Haki to confirm that Lizzie left.

 **Sorry about the lack of content in the last two chapters... Things will start moving now! Thanks for the support, favourites and follows! R &R please!**


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